Mark 2:1-5

“My little can only do little,” you proclaim.
The paralytic, crippled in all four limbs,
Thought of death,
Yet did not believe in his imminent end.
Someone in ISRAEL had to come:
At His lightning gaze, the gates of death,
So threatening since Adam,
So greedy for victims,
Shattered, crumbled, and disappeared.

Then came the Good News,
Then came Jesus the Savior.
Four arms of violence,
Assaulting four foreheads marked by death—
Four!
Four from the North, four from the South, four from the East,
Four from the West.

Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of Death,
Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of Disease,
Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of Passivity,
Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of Unemployment,
Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of Shame,
Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of Sterility,
Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of Delay,
Four arms pulled the Invalid
Out of the Curse.

NORTH
SOUTH
EAST
WEST
As long as you commit, be useful,
Help will come to you.

The Four arms of the river of living water,
Watering the Garden of Eden,
Will carry you
Far from Famine,
Far from the Fowler’s Snare,
Far from the Traps of Death.

Far,
Still far,
Far away in the distance,
Far yet near,
Far, nonetheless.
Earth, fire, water, air—

Four.
All submitted to the Principle of carrying life
As the Question was led to Jesus,
As the Inactive stood at the Door.
No obvious escape:
The gates below,
The gates of hell,
The gates of the realm of the dead…
The army of darkness with sharp claws,
The destiny-enemy of the Invalid,
The enemy forcing him to sink far from life,
The enemy who kept him crippled.

Still crippled,
Dependent under the sun,
Dependent before Man,
Still crippled,
Dependent without a future,
Dependent forever.

Heaven extended its Hand of Association
When the Blood of the Lion gushed forth;
Darkness grew darker,
The darkness-darkness,
The darkness within darkness,
The DARKNESS tore apart,
The DARKNESS devoured itself.

Then appeared the Redeeming Light,
Then the Restoring Star found its way:
The heavens opened:
More signs,
More power.
The Four climbed onto the roof.
Salvation is primarily vertical.
The Four brave ones knew—
As much to know,
Or NEVER,
As much to know now,
As much to release,
As much to let go.

To know as much,
What a preference!

As much to know—
The Four brave ones knew.
Unshaken, the Master taught;
Someone among all was learning,
From this dense crowd, one was freeing himself;
From His harsh Words, one was being built up.
The Four arms seized the roof:
A breakthrough happened where none was expected,
A door was created where specialists saw none.

The Four brave ones knew:
They reaped where they had not sown.
The Four arms made noise—
Deafening,
Very,
Even more.
Oppositions had to rise:
The owner,
The disciples,
The Leader-circle—Peter, John, James.
Deafening,
Very,
Even more.
Oppositions,
Oppositions—
They could not be denied:
Face them!
The challenge: now!
Survive immediately,
Without waiting for tomorrow,
Give birth to tomorrow fresh and new.
And now,
Survive immediately!
The Four brave ones knew—
They reaped where they had not sown.

The Four arms made noise—
Deafening,
Very,
Even more.
One ultimate opposition: the roof.
You, the roof-obstacle-to-yourself,
From offensive to offensive,
Madam Defensive fortified her armor,
Master Offensive had the art of winning with blood.
More than a conqueror,
More than blessed,
ONE MORE LIKE YOU ARE.

Finally,
No more hunger!
No end to HIM,
To the Lord of Hosts,
Victor of Victors,
Terrifying in TERROR,
More than a conqueror!
And the roof gave way.
And the dead one was lowered to Christ.

The depths of His Mercy trembled:
The Anointing had compassion.
Once again—
It is a humanity shackled by Satan.

The power of forgiveness stirred—
FIRST.
If you have a heart that does not forgive,
Your wound becomes incurable:
God, the Father, will not forgive you.
Unforgiving one who seeks forgiveness,
You will die without pardon,
Refusing to forgive,
To offer forgiveness freely,
Freely you will leave this earth
Without—
Especially without the Father’s forgiveness.
It’s surely hell,
A welcoming land.
What a stay!
What an eternity!
Eternally yours.
The miracle is revealed through forgiveness,
The forgiveness of sins:
“My child, your sins are forgiven.”

Sins,
Forgiveness—
The Anointing did not demand
An account of sins,
It asked nothing,
For a truly repentant heart, all is excused.
Hope now reigned;
Immediately, the man began to live again:
A return is always possible.

The Life-Giving Spirit was now at work,
Immediately, the man began to live again.
Very prompt, too, were the scribes—
Immediately, the Jewish Law denounced the offense:
FORGIVING SINS.
Rejoice in your heart by forgiving yourself,
In Christ, you bless yourself when you forgive others.

Once again,
Even in the presence of Jesus,
The obstacle returned.
By saving, Jesus defied it!
Ignoring the futile,
You become useful;
From futilities,
Even from futile men,
Even from men-futilities.
Jesus is on a mission.
Through you, in you, the mission must live!

The Four brave ones applauded:
He walks!
Already,
It works—faith works!

He was once a paralytic,
Today, in Christ, completely healed,
A new man is created!
More than a conqueror…

This text is an excerpt from the book “ONE MORE LIKE YOU ARE” written by Kuami Thomas ZAGA.

We invite you to read the next article: “MAN, IF YOU UNDERSTOOD.”

PARALYTIC, MORE THAN STANDING. PARALYTIC, MORE THAN STANDING. PARALYTIC, MORE THAN STANDING.