Notes to the Lord:Seeing Grace

Mark 2:7-12

Some religion scholars sitting there started whispering among themselves, “He can’t talk that way! That’s blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins.”

Lord Jesus--There are times when I am just like these leaders of the law. Two things are right in front of me and I just can't keep it all in focus. There is the map before me of your word and then there is present experience. It reminds me of looking at the GPS while the road sign is going right by me. These men could not get their eyes off the GPS long enough to see the sign post of personal experience right before them. Instead, they missed what you were doing and all that it meant.

[2:8-12] Jesus knew right away what they were thinking, and said, “Why are you so skeptical? Which is simpler: to say to the paraplegic, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or say, ‘Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking’?

Lord Jesus-- You did not want them to miss what you were doing. You were highlighting with red letters the work that God was doing right in front of their eyes. Now, I could get a bit proud and think that I never have done that kind of thing. I have never missed the road sign while intently peering at the GPS? Right? Wrong. You know that is just nonsense. Why is it that children sometime have less trouble being honesty about what they can't understand? They intuitively realize that they don't get it...while adults try to figure it out. Maybe that was part of why you said that we had to come to like children...open eyed and open hearted.

Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both . . .” (he looked now at the paraplegic), “Get up. Pick up your stretcher and go home.” And the man did it—got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out, with everyone there watching him. They rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then praised God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”

Grace came to town that day, with you Lord Jesus. Right in the middle of the towering vested interests and spiritual longings turned legalistic, you walked in.  You came with power to heal forgive, and restore what sin had broken.  In the middle of so much that would distract me, I can miss grace.  But if I look for it I can still find it tucked in the middle of towers and highways.  

Lord Jesus--Today in the middle of a busy weekend open my eyes to your ongoing work of healing, grace and restoration of what sin has twisted and maimed.

Peterson, Eugene H. (2006-06-15). The Message Remix 2.0: The Bible In contemporary Language (p. 1793). NavPress. Kindle Edition.