3. The paralytic responded visibly

“…and went out before them all…”

Thomas Edison once noted to reporters that he had tried over 10,000 materials to serve as the filament for his electric light bulb before making it work. His tenacity and drive to succeed compelled him to create one of the most important inventions in human history. The electric light bulb can be found in virtually every nook and cranny in the world offering the convenience of instant light for billions.

Jesus once told his followers that they were the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). The light that the followers of Jesus take into the world is the light of the gospel. Those who bear that light cannot in any way hide it from the world. It must shine forth into every nation, and shine brighter than any of man’s inventions.

The paralytic illustrates this for us in crystal clarity. His obedient and immediate response to Jesus was carried out in the presence and sight of all. There is a fundamental abandonment to self in engaging in such a public display as this. The Christian’s public witness can be an unnerving experience, that is because Jesus touches the most intimate and personal parts of our lives and then calls us to disclose his redeeming work to the world.

Placing ourselves on display in an act of selfless transparency is not something unfamiliar to the life of God. In the incarnation, God exposed Himself to the world in the baby Jesus. The Word of God took on the form of flesh and put a face on the invisible God. Furthermore, Jesus, in the ultimate act of humiliation and self-giving in his crucifixion, was entirely exposed to the world as he hung nakedly on the cross. God knows full well what it means to be made vulnerable.

The example of Jesus conveys to us the truly redemptive and salvific quality of vulnerability. Why not hide the light of the world residing in a transformed life? Because it is the transformed life that serves as a life-giving channel of grace to the world. The grace that is extended to those who believe is not to be hoarded or selfishly absorbed. The true receptacle of grace should simultaneously be an outlet of grace, for grace is experienced relationally.

Within the inner Triune life of God, the life and love of God is co-shared – mutually given and received – by the Persons of the Godhead. This, in essence, is who God is. He is a communion of Persons; He is Holy Love. The very same life and love shared among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is shared with humanity through faith in Jesus and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the light of God’s work in the lives of believers is neither meant to be hidden nor hoarded. His work in our lives enables us to be something redemptive in the life of another. If the paralytic had walked off into a reclusive life, he never would have been the person Jesus was meaning to create. But thankfully we have a beautiful example in the paralytic as one who immediately obeyed Jesus and went out in the presence of all.