Who am I in the story of, "The Man Taken with a Palsy?"

Luke 5: 17-25

17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judæa, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

18 ¶ And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?

23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

This story has been going through my mind for the past few days. Sometimes when I read scripture stories I like to ask myself, who would I be in this story?

When I read this story I pictured myself as a bystander. Listening, or at least TRYING to listen and get a glimpse of Jesus. It seems that this was a very busy day for Christ. There were doubters, curious listeners, believers, law men trying to twist His words to accuse him of wrong doing, etc. 

I imagined I saw family members who had seen so much pain and hurt in their brother or son that they had to ACT! They believed so much in Jesus's healing power, that they took their brother or son who was stricken with a palsy to be healed. They grabbed a sturdy cot they could carry him in and set off to find Jesus. This family would have had incredible faith and must have known that if anyone could heal their brother or son, it was Jesus.

I'm sure as they approached this home (or building) Christ was teaching in, that they were not ready for the crush of people that were watching and listening to Jesus. I'm sure they had to bolster one another, they had come this far and they would not be deterred.

 (I imagine the doorway was large enough for the cot because Jesus would not tell the man to take up his "couch" and walk if it wouldn't have fit through the door) 

I imagine they asked others to kindly move so they could ask Jesus to heal their brother. I imagine people would either snub them and not move, or some would push them away claiming they shouldn't be there. 

I can only imagine the heart ache they would feel when others would not help. 

This is where I ask myself the question, WHO AM I IN THIS STORY?

Am I the bystander who snubs them and only thinks of seeing Jesus myself?

OR

Am I the one who helps them, and finds the ladder?

In just about ANY life situation we need to ask ourselves, Who will I be? Who does Christ want me to be? Will I judge others quickly and shoo them away? Or will I love them and help them find a way to Christ?

I love how Jesus healed this man's spirit before He healed his body. "Thy sins are forgiven thee." 

He healed this man spiritually before He healed him physically. What does that teach us about spiritual health? 

It is just as important, to be spiritually strong, as it is to by physically strong. 

Jesus preformed many miracles in His short 32 years of life, but don't think for one moment that His miracles have ceased. Look for His fingerprint in your life. Many people dwell on the negative in their lives and how much they wish it would improve. It's great to assess your life and look for options to make it better, but don't be sucked down into only negative thoughts. Be grateful for what you have. Look at all the things that went RIGHT today, not the things that went wrong.  

You were blessed with breath today, and a heart that is beating. 

Who can you speak to and share your heart with?