Are You Hedging On Healing?

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. (John 5:5, NIV)

The account of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-18) is a story that demonstrates the love of God through the ministry of Christ. In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Althea noted that God's love is a love that moves His people out of the "status quo."

In John 5:5 we learn that the lame man had been at the pool for thirty-eight years. Pastor Althea shared with us that this man had grown accustomed to, and perhaps even comfortable with, life lived in a sick community. Jesus asked him a pertinent question: "Do you want to be well?" (John 5:6b)

Our pastor explained to us the danger of status quo: we sometimes plant ourselves in situations that are not optimal, then grow accustomed to living life in that condition.  We then spend the remainder of our years making excuses as to why we remain bound to something that we know is not God's choice for us. We see this in the John 5 account. The man responded to Jesus's question with a lengthy excuse as to why, over a period of thirty-eight years, he remained a sick man in a sick community.

Fast-forward to 2014.

Is there something in your character that has, figuratively speaking, crippled you? Is there some sickness that has become an integral part of who you are, yet you know in your heart that the Lord has presented you the option for healing? Be it pornography, gossip, hatred, idolatry, or some other agent that has gripped your soul and hijacked your true identity, the Lord Christ is here to set you free.

Jesus knows the things that have beset us for years, or even for decades. Today He asks each of us the same question asked of the lame man at the pool: Do you want to be well?

My reply? "Yes, Lord. I desire to be healed by You."

What is your reply?