Life Resolution: Living a Forgiveness Lifestyle

Happy Soul SONday Sanctuarians. We have one more day remaining in 2012 and we are finishing our year strong with “40 Days of Healing”. For 40 Days we concentrated on our spiritual self and healing wounds from past hurts. For 40 days we entered into The Sanctuary, the Inner Courts, and we read one scripture for healing and prayed and affirmed our healing. Today is the 40th day.  The final scripture in our 40 Days of Healing is Luke 5:17-26:

One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers ofreligious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every
village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord's healing power was strongly with Jesus. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to push through the crowd to Jesus, but they couldn't reach him. So they went up to the roof, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man down into the crowd, still on his mat, right in front  of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." "Who does this man think he is?" the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to each other. "This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins?" Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why do you think this is blasphemy? Is it easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up and walk'? I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, take your mat, and go on home, because you are healed!" And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped to his feet, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe. And they praised God, saying over and over again, "We have seen amazing things today." 

In this passage of Luke he writes of yet another miracle, the healing of the paralytic. This miracle is significant because it shows that Jesus' authority
extends even to the forgiveness of sins. Jesus proves that the same power that
operates in God also works in Him and so he proves to the naysayers when the
paralytic walks away healed that he operates in those same transcendent powers. The paralytic is stationary and totally helpless. But after his healing, he can walk through life and praise God. This text also shows the importance of faith. It is the faith of those who bring the paralytic to Jesus that is highlighted. This detail seems to indicate that God honors us as we seek to lead others to the Lord. The paralytic comes on a mat, but the crowds prevent access, so the friends must scale the ladder on the side of the house to get up on the roof, where they can cut through the roof and lower the man in front of Jesus. Needless to say, such activity is highly distracting. The man ends up right in front of Jesus. So now the Teacher must act. What will he do? Jesus pulls a surprise. No doubt the crowd has expected a healing, since Jesus' reputation has spread far and wide already. But instead Jesus talks about sin.
And thus again a miracle becomes a parable. This time it pictures the presence of the destructive forces of sin in the world. And then Jesus claims to have the authority to reverse those effects,  he says, "Friend, your sins areforgiven."  The remark provokes an instant theological critique from the religious experts present. They began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" They see the risks correctly. They understand how great Jesus' claim is. The issue of blasphemy will become a central concern at Jesus' trial, as Jesus reiterates an authority for himself there that the leadership will question. To blaspheme was to perform an action that violated God's majesty. Claiming a privilege that was only God's would be such a violation. Jesus poses a challenge: "Which is easier: to say, Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Get up and walk'?"  Now there is irony here. It is easier to say sin is forgiven, since one cannot see it. But actually to forgive sin is the harder thing to do. Still, the healing of a lame man could be supported visually; one could see its success immediately. Jesus' remarks, however, link the two actions. Healing will reveal the authority to forgive--and in the process raise many questions about who Jesus is. So Jesus says, "But that you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." This moment in the account calls to mind the sports expression "crunch time." Either the man gets up and walks or he continues to lie there. Either Jesus' claim comes through, or he is utterly embarrassed. God does not help sinners, so what will happen? The  claim, however, rides on what the paralytic does in the next few moments. mmediately the paralytic stood up in front of them. The man's walk means God has talked! As the former paralytic praises God, amazement overwhelms the crowd. They have seen remarkable things. Again Luke ends the passage asking the reader implicitly to ponder what has taken place. What happened? What has been claimed about what happened? Events speak louder than words: the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins. Jesus has backed up his words with action. God is vindicating Jesus' claims. At crunch time Jesus applies his authority with great skill. As the paralytic walks, the question becomes who will walk with him and share the forgiveness Jesus has pictured. 

As we approach the finish line of 2012, its crunch time. What are you going to do in the final seconds of this game? What are going do with the wounds, disappointments, hurts and unforgiveness that you have been holding on to with yourself and others? Not forgiving and holding resentment is like having a wound which you check every day to see if it is healing but never doing anything to treat the wound. Forgiveness frees and heals you. It recaptures the energy that you were giving away in sadness, anger, and revenge. Forgiveness also empowers you. It puts you back in charge of you and it enables you to focus on living in purpose, providence and  prosperity. The forgiveness choice is, “Do you want to be bitter or better?" Keep holding on to the pain and you will be bitter. Make the better choice. Learn to let go. Today make a Life Resolution to live a forgiveness lifestyle. Not sure as to how to live in forgiveness, just enter into The Sanctuary for a Daily Dose of,” Living a Forgiveness Lifestyle”. It will surely be Food for your Soul.

Living a Forgiveness Lifestyle