Spiritual vs. Physical Health

8-19-2009

It’s easy to buy into the priorities of the world (wealth, fame, etc.), therefore it’s extremely important we stay focused on the priorities God’s laid out for us. Matthew 9:1-8 gives us a great example of our short sided thought process with regards to what’s really important.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic
1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

The people were so concerned with the paralytic’s physical well being; they looked over the spiritual blessing of salvation Jesus gave him. I believe their intentions were good in that they wanted to see the paralytic healed, but they lost focus of what really counts. Moreover, they challenged Jesus because he didn’t heal the man immediately. Human’s primary concern in this case was the physical healing. Jesus’ primary concern was the spiritual healing that needed to take place. As we read, Jesus did heal the man physically, and then they all believed he was God. When Jesus healed him spiritually they accused him of blasphemy. Let’s not lose focus of our calling and duty. Work on your spiritual well being just as much, if not more than you work on everything else! Think about it, if we worked on our spiritual growth as much as we do our physical well being (working out, eating, etc.) just imagine how different the world would be!

Application:
1. Read Matthew 9:1-8
2. Start Today on growing spiritually.