Which is easier?

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man,  “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

- Mark 2: 8-13

Four men carried their paralysed friend to Jesus so that Jesus could heal their friend. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralysed man “Son, your sins are forgiven”. This is not what the four friends had expected, not what the paralysed man wanted. Yet, that is what he needed. That is what we all need.

We often equate sin with emotions/behaviours that aren’t nice or downright bad, like pride, jealousy, stealing dan murder. But sin goes much deeper. In Ezekiel 16, the author compared sin with prostitution.

In Jeremiah 2: 13 God said of his people: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Sin is our soul’s desire to abandon God and rely on ourselves. That is why it requires Jesus’ life for us to be forgiven.

Which one is easier? For Jesus to heal, it doesn’t cost him. But for Jesus to forgive. He needs to give his whole life. When he says, your sins are forgiven, he is essentially saying, I love you so much that I’m willing to give up my life for you.

“Replacing “what if ” with “even if ” in our mental vocabulary is one of the most liberating exchanges we can ever make. We trade our irrational fears of an uncertain future for the loving assurance of an unchanging God.

We see that even if the very worst happens, God will carry us. He will still be good. And he will never leave us.” – Scars that have shaped me