“What came next stunned everyone, especially the religious nuts.”
Dave Miers imagines what life was like for the man healed by Jesus.
Today began like any other day. I woke up to the sound of the chickens. Mum brought me in some breakfast and I lay in bed reading today’s Galilee Gazette. I still think it’s weird that my sister has been given the job of washing me, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
The boys came around this morning as they often do. They are good friends to me. They spend time with me when others just laugh at me. Often they used to take me out around the town – it was a physical burden to them – but they were creative in how they got me around. Despite my limitations, we got up to some crazy mischief.
That was then. Now that my pain has increased, it’s limited the number of outings to zero in the last six months. In fact I haven’t even left the house! The pain is bad. But the isolation is worse.
I was shocked today when they suggested that they were taking me out for the day. That teacher from Nazareth has been doing some incredible things. He’s my only hope. The boys know this too and said they will do anything to get me an audience with him.
There were more people there than we expected. I said that maybe we should go home and try again another time. However, I was glad when the boys suggested another way.
It was kind of funny how they pulled apart the roof and lowered me down. Suddenly all eyes were on me. I was a little embarrassed. There were so many people there. What would they be thinking? And the religious people? They always seem so serious and frown upon everything.
What came next stunned everyone, especially the religious nuts. The teacher said that my sins were forgiven. This outraged many people. Yet the teacher did more than that. He said to prove that he had authority to forgive sins he would heal my legs. And he did. I’m now walking. I was carried in on my bed but now I am carrying my bed out. I thanked Jesus. And I thanked my friends. That afternoon we had so much fun!
As I lay here falling asleep, I’ve begun to realise that of the two incredible things that happened to me today, being able to walk again is the least important.
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