WHERE do we find these words? In Luke 5, “And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” Not when He saw his faith, in this narrative. And might we not oftener follow the example of these four men, on behalf of those dear to us, whom we see going on, day by day, indifferent and careless as to their souls’ salvation. This man was sick of the palsy, type of the helplessness of those who are still in their sins.
Last summer I was reminded of this palsied man, borne of four, who through great difficulties was laid at the feet of the Lord Jesus, by an earnest Christian worker, living in one of the Channel Islands. I had known her for years as a devoted follower of the Lord Jesus. One day I went to see her, when she told me she was going away the following day, for a fortnight’s holiday. I asked her where?
“Well,” she said, “I am going for a week to P —, and then to E —, where I hear many souls are converted at the preachings, and I should like to hear Mr. — preach. I am going to take Rachel, one of my apprentices (for she is a dressmaker), with nae, and I hope she will be saved.”
About ten days after, I received a letter from L—, full of joy, saying how the Lord had indeed answered her expectations, for Rachel was converted; the very first evening she went to the hall, the Lord said to her soul, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.”
Now, dear reader, faith and works must go together; those four men worked pretty hard, to lay the palsied man at the feet of Jesus, and L—took a long journey to get Rachel under the sound of the Gospel. May the Lord Jesus give us wisdom to use the means, and faith to believe in His willingness and power to save souls, that much glory may be brought to His name. F. G.