Son, Your Sins are Forgiven!

In my ongoing journey of discovery I’ve come to really appreciate the people around me who, while being some of the smartest people I’ve ever met, display such a measure of humility and grace. I guess it’s true that the more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know, and the more that informs your empathy and humility towards others.

My friend Alex McManus is one such person. He challenges my thinking in ways that few others ever have, and yet he humbly invites my opinion and truly considers it, as he navigates his own journey of ongoing discovery.

Recently I was reading Alex’s new book titled Makers of Fire. While it’s chock full of ideas that make you think — and potentially give you a headache as a result of their foresight and complexity — I was particularly impacted by the following quote:

“As important as technology is as a driver of change, we must not dismiss the central importance of human agency in igniting and shaping change. Technology is the hands of man…. We are impacted by our environment. We are shaped by our societies. But we are not passive “reactors” only. We are also actors. We can shape an environment and a society by the strength of our character, our values and virtue, our ideas and morality… for good or ill.”

I love that! It gives clarity and relevance to the purpose of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Because Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth, hundreds of millions of lives have been transformed as a direct result of exposure to His message. From Ghandi, to Mother Teresa. From Nelson Mandela to Martin Luther King Jr., their message of hope, love, and faith was always deeply rooted in the philosophy and teaching of Jesus.

Our world has often been shaped by people willing to stand up and be counted in the midst of the greatest tyranny’s and tragedies that mankind has visited upon ourselves. Out of the inhumanity of Hitler’s gas chambers, came the brave and selfless sacrifices of people like Corrie Ten Boom and Oskar Schindler. Out of the perversion of slavery and bigotry, came determined crusaders like Mandela and King. Out of the attempt to forcefully annex India and much of the Third-world by the British, came Ghandi and his message of non-violent protest.

it is indisputably true that our society is shaped for better or for worse by human influence.

The influence of Jesus in shaping the transformation of humanity is also indisputable. In Luke 5:20 we read the seemingly misplaced words, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Seemingly misplaced because they were spoken to a paralytic who was brought before Jesus by his friends while Jesus was teaching. His perceived greatest need? Physical healing. Yet Jesus chooses to forgive his sins. The story takes a beautiful turn, but it isn’t mine to tell. You see, my friend Alex, tells this story beautifully in the chapter titled Heart Trends, in the book Makers of Fire.

If you’re intrigued by the conclusion, then you need to go here http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e6d489bc36bba41132a836f92&id=b606b48d70&e=76e7628e68 right now and download the ebook. I guarantee you’ll be glad you did.