“Oh, there they come!” cried Neddie the next moment; “papa and mamma and all the rest,” and he ran to the side of the vessel to give them a joyous greeting as they presently stepped upon the deck.  In the afternoon the captain gathered his young people together for a Bible lesson, which all liked as he was sure to make it both interesting and instructive.  The subject was the miracle of Christ wrought in the healing of the paralytic as related in Mark II. 1-12. “‘Seeing their faith?’ How did they show their faith, Lucilla?” asked the captain.

“By their works, papa.  I think that if they had not believed that Jesus could and would heal their friend they would hardly have taken the trouble to break up the roof that they might let him down before the Lord.  And the paralytic too must have had faith in the power and willingness of Jesus to heal him or surely he would have objected to being moved so much—­carried from this house along the street to the place where Jesus was, then up to the roof, and let down from there in his bed.”

“Yes, he, too, surely must have had faith in the power and willingness of Christ to heal him, and is included in the number of those spoken of as having faith.  Let it never be forgotten that faith in Christ is necessary to salvation; for without faith it is impossible to please him’; but, ’all things are possible to him that believeth.’  ’Ye believe in God, believe also in me,’ Jesus said to his disciples in his farewell talk with them the night before his crucifixion.  If we would be saved we must have ’the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.’  None can be justified by works, ’for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,’ and if we are justified it must be ’freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.’  Ah, let us all pray as did the disciples, ’Lord, increase our faith.’”

“Why did Jesus say to the man ‘Son, thy sins be forgiven thee,’ papa?” asked little Elsie.  “I thought it was to be cured of his sickness the man came.”

“Yes, daughter, but sin is the cause of all sickness and disease; if man had not sinned there would never have been any sickness or pain, and there will be none in heaven where all are holy.

“And in pronouncing the man’s sins forgiven Jesus asserted himself to be God.  The Scribes sitting there understood it to be so, and said in their hearts, ’Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God only?’ And Jesus knew their thoughts, for he asked, ’Why reason ye these things in your hearts?’”

“That he could see their thoughts I should think was another proof that he was God,” remarked Walter, “and when that was followed by the instantaneous healing of the man, it seems to me wondrous strange that they were not convinced beyond the possibility of a doubt.”

“The trouble with them was the same with that of many in these days,” returned the captain; “their hearts were more in the wrong than their heads; they did not want to be convinced.”