Get Up And Go!

I don’t intend on blogging every day, but my brain was particularly noisy this morning and hasn’t quieted much since.  I was walking this morning because I’m still recovering from that pulled ligament last week. While I was walking, I was listening to scripture. In Matthew 9 Jesus comes across a paralyzed man. He forgave the man’s sins and instructed him to get up and go home.  There is so much in this event to talk about, but I want to focus on a couple of things.

What sin had this man committed that had rendered him paralyzed? I have a friend that I have repeatedly invited to a bible study. He keeps declining the invitation because, according to him, he wants to get some things in his life straightened out before he gets involved in bible studies or church. He doesn’t want to feel like a hypocrite because he smokes and swears and drinks occasionally. I would say that he has allowed the condition of his heart to paralyze his spiritual growth. In my blog yesterday, I wrote that I was so disillusioned by the actions and words of others in the church that I allowed my spiritual growth to be paralyzed.

When Jesus tells us that our sins are forgiven, he has removed the thing that paralyzed our growth. I find it interesting that once this man’s sins were forgiven and whatever was holding him back was removed, Jesus still had to tell him to get up and go. I think about a dog in a yard with one of those invisible fences. The dog wears a collar that gives him a shock if he beyond a certain point. Eventually, the dog learns where the boundaries are and doesn’t go beyond them. After several years of having this collar on, what happens when we remove it? Nothing. The dog has become so accustomed to living within these boundaries that he is afraid to go beyond them. That is, until the Master tells him that it is okay.  Go.

Sometimes as Christians, we are afraid to “go”. We are bound by fear or pride or shame of our past or *insert shock collar here*. We behave as if we are still paralyzed even though our sins are forgiven. We act as if the shock collar is still on even though the Master has removed it. I think about times when I’ve been convicted of something that I had done. Depending on the severity, sometimes I’m so ashamed that I can’t even bring myself to ask God for forgiveness, much less the person I hurt. When I quiet the shame enough to hear His voice say, “Your sins are forgiven,” it still feels like I can’t move. Then He says, “Now GET UP AND GO!”

What is paralyzing you today? Know this. Jesus is the Great Physician that heals the paralyzed. He is the Master. He forgives your sins and removes the collar that is keeping you bound. Seek His forgiveness and you will have it. The collar has been removed. NOW GET UP AND GO!