John 5:2-9
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids -- blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed? 7 The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me. 8 Jesus said to him, Get up, take up your bed, and walk. 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
The man had struggled almost his entire life with the "problem" that wouldn't go away. Then Jesus asked him a simple question: "do you want to be healed?" (verse 6). Such a strange question, of course he wants to be healed! But the man has reasons why he can't be healed, why he won't be healed: there is no one to help him, he is always too late, etc. Likewise, we say that we want to be healed, but we have lots of reasons, legitimate excuses, for why we are not: I don't have a wife to help me, I just have a strong sex drive, it's too hard to be pure in this culture, etc. The question of Jesus is not so simple. Do we really want to be healed? Do we really want our life turned upside down? Do we really want to be crucified with Christ? Or are we comfortable with our life, the only life we've really known? Sure, it's not perfect, but is it really that bad? Life might be scary if we couldn't rely on our old familiar crutch. Do we really want to change? Our present situation may be ugly, but it is known, and seemingly safer than the wild unknown. So we cling to our known selves, warts and all. Thankfully, Jesus did not leave the man stuck in his predicament, but beckoned him to move forward: "get up, take up your bed, and walk" (verse 8). Similarly he says to us, "get up from the floor of despair, and take a step forward". Then take another step, and another, learning to walk, one step at a time, one day at a time.
Lord, I want to be healed.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids -- blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed? 7 The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me. 8 Jesus said to him, Get up, take up your bed, and walk. 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
The man had struggled almost his entire life with the "problem" that wouldn't go away. Then Jesus asked him a simple question: "do you want to be healed?" (verse 6). Such a strange question, of course he wants to be healed! But the man has reasons why he can't be healed, why he won't be healed: there is no one to help him, he is always too late, etc. Likewise, we say that we want to be healed, but we have lots of reasons, legitimate excuses, for why we are not: I don't have a wife to help me, I just have a strong sex drive, it's too hard to be pure in this culture, etc. The question of Jesus is not so simple. Do we really want to be healed? Do we really want our life turned upside down? Do we really want to be crucified with Christ? Or are we comfortable with our life, the only life we've really known? Sure, it's not perfect, but is it really that bad? Life might be scary if we couldn't rely on our old familiar crutch. Do we really want to change? Our present situation may be ugly, but it is known, and seemingly safer than the wild unknown. So we cling to our known selves, warts and all. Thankfully, Jesus did not leave the man stuck in his predicament, but beckoned him to move forward: "get up, take up your bed, and walk" (verse 8). Similarly he says to us, "get up from the floor of despair, and take a step forward". Then take another step, and another, learning to walk, one step at a time, one day at a time.
Lord, I want to be healed.