Which one is easier?

Is it easier for you to join in, or walk away? Lots of kids would say, "Join in." It can be scary NOT to do something everyone else is doing. In this week's Gospel (Mark 2:1-12), Jesus teaches about that.

Jesus was teaching in a house in Capernaum when four people brought their friend, who was paralyzed, for Him to heal. The crowd was so big that they had to cut a hole in the roof and lower their friend down to Jesus. He saw the man and said, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Some people got angry and told Jesus, "You shouldn't say that!" So He said, "Which is easier -- to forgive his sins or heal him?" Then He said to the man, "Get up and walk." The man did! Everyone watching said, "We've never seen anything like this."

Jesus knew all about doing the "easier thing." It was easier for Him to make people believe in Him by doing miracles, like making sick people well, than by teaching hard stuff about God. It probably even made Him feel good when people cheered.

Sometimes, the hard thing to do is really the better thing. It's hard to walk away when your friends are whispering about someone. You think, "What if they start talking about me?" But if you go along with them, you feel guilty. That's worse than walking away!

For Jesus, it was easier to heal people's bodies than their souls. We don't know how good the sick man felt when his sins were forgiven, only when his body got better. Jesus did the harder thing by healing the man's soul -- but then, because people didn't understand, He had to heal the man's body, too.

If Jesus was your friend, you wouldn't find Him whispering about someone. But He WOULD put His arm around that person's shoulders, saying, "Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter what they say!"

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me do the right thing -- even when that's the harder thing! Amen.