Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 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 making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.”Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. (John 5:5-9, NRSVCE)
So that’s the question, isn’t it?
“Do you want to be well?” Jesus asks one of the men in the pool porticos at Bethesda. But all the man does in reply is complain about how no one helps him. Jesus throws down the challenge to get up rather than waiting for anything other than the Divine help he offers. When the man takes it, he finds he can indeed walk again, for the first time in decades.
Do you want to be well? For me, it depends on the situation. Sometimes, it’s just easier to complain. Other times, I privately wonder if I’m worthy of health. Feeling unworthy is as safe a place to me as whining was to that sick man.
Do you want to be well? Pray on that today. We likely think we would have answered Jesus with a, “Of course I do!” But wellness implies strength and the ability to put aside our excuses—and walk with Him.
