Diagnosis Determined

Mathew 9:1-2 -- "Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

 
Doing a little bit of research into our family genealogy has been an amazing journey for us. Not only do we find history in England, Scotland, Germany, and Poland  - but deep digging has lead us to a family tree that includes some pretty interesting characters - like Catherine Howard [King Henry VIII's fifth wife] and that less than genius posse of would-be bank robbers, THE Dalton Gang. In fact, we have discovered so many pieces to our genealogical puzzle that they do not all fit onto my computer spreadsheets. Our tree, at this point,  looks more like a large bowl of spaghetti than it does an actual tree. My husband was even able to trace his Dad's blood line all the way back to the twelfth century. An amazing feat - and quite exciting!

A few interesting things we've discovered include some fairly uncommon physical traits. Some of which can be traced back to single clans from Scotland and Ireland. For example, my youngest son is missing a tooth on the left side of his head. That is so say, he was born without one. We learned this on his very first dental visit and later discovered that this particular hereditary trait can place him in a very exclusive group of people from a small area in rural Irish farm country. My sister and I have passed down to our children a deep ridge in our cheekbones. So deep that the muscle formation over these bones show a slight but noticeable depression. Frequently people mistake this for an imprint made by eye glasses, but this facial feature is a permanent physical trait from birth. Both of my boys have it. My sisters son has it. These bone ridges place my sister and I [and our children] in an exclusive clan from early Scotland. In my entire life, I have only met one other person outside of our family that has them - but there are more out there. [Especially if you travel to Scotland.]

Some hereditary traits handed down through family blood lines aren't nearly as interesting and harmless. Our family has a medical history of polycystic kidneys, osteoporosis, diabetes, thyroid disorders, and Alzheimer's Disease. Other things like clinical depression and bipolar disorder can also be handed down through DNA. So digging into one's family background CAN unearth of few skeletons that add a bit a color to the branches now and then.

A slight abnormality in hip-bone structure that causes labral tearing is one of the legacies my genetic contributors managed to pass down to me. This particular diagnosis took decades to pin down and the treatment is something I have yet to really explore. One thing I HAVE learned about this condition - is that physical therapy can do a lot toward avoiding hip surgery and the possibility of a wheelchair in my future. I bring this up - because:

Often our physical health comes to a matter of choice. Choosing to do the things that we know will provide a better, healthier future can go a very long way to the happiness and productiveness of our lives. IF I decide NOT to adhere to the exercise regimen and recommendations of my physical therapist, I can look forward to surgery and puttering around in a wheel chair when I get older. Other members of my family choose not to drink coffee and soft-drinks in an effort to stave off symptoms of polycystic kidneys. A few family members adhere to extremely strict diets and rigorous exercise routines to stave off obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. The very cool thing about living in modern times - is that these things can be discovered early and sometimes avoided with the proper diagnosis and treatment.

So often in Bible times one's physical affliction was tied to a real or perceived sin. Sometimes the sin was only in the minds of one's peers - but on other occasions the burden of one's physical pain was truly a mark made by some undisclosed transgression. In Matthew we learn that on a trip back to his homeland, Jesus was approached by a crippled man, carted along on a mat. The man could not get to Jesus by his own physical efforts - he had to be carried. We aren't given a lot of detail about his physical ailment. We don't know exactly the condition of his legs nor do we know how long the man had been unable to walk. The one thing we DO know is that the journey taken by this paralyzed man changed his life - he was made to walk again by the forgiveness Jesus offered him. 

There are several passages in the Bible that offer us a glimpse into the healing that Jesus performed on those that suffered. This one in Matthew sticks out for me because it's one of the few times we learn about a debilitating physical condition caused by sin. We don't know exactly what the sin IS - but we understand that it has taken control over the sinner's life. His spiritual diagnosis prior to the point of his arrival at the feet of Jesus is left undetermined.

Ours is NOT.

Each of us can trace our spiritual lineage back to a time when man walked freely with God. Surrounded by peace and beauty - our ancestors were at one point NOT afflicted by pain, by suffering, by SIN. That changed. Handed down through generation after generation is a sinful human nature. Like the color of our hair or our susceptibility to diabetes or heart disease - we KNOW that all of mankind has sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Our diagnosis has been determined. And we have to choose how we are going to handle it. 

Knowing what future might be in store should I decide not to do the things my doctor has recommended, I am more likely to struggle through the pain of physical therapy in order to avoid it. You and I KNOW what spiritual future we have. There is no maybe about it. We can allow our sin to paralyze us - to keep us from the mobile, healthy life God wants us to have - or - we can allow the precious forgiveness of Jesus Christ to heal us completely. It does come down to a choice. 

The paralyzed man on the mat carried by his peers DID live. He ate. He drank. It seems that he had people that cared about him since he was carried to the feet of Jesus. But he produced no fruit from his life on that mat. If we allow our own sin to keep us on a mat, how can we fulfill God's plans for us? We ARE still saved, we CAN live .... but can we produce the kind of fruit that God really wants from us?

So .... do we walk of our own spiritual ability into the kingdom of God? ...or will we need to carted in by those around us who care? I choose to walk in - because if I CAN use my own legs, perhaps I can reach out and help carry some one who can't.