Healing

‘Do you want to be made well?’  John 5

Each one of us, to some degree, to some extent, is trapped by the circumstances of our lives.  Think about it. 

Do we not think back on the things we used to be able to do?  Do we not think about the ‘what ifs’ of our situations?

The man by the pool in today’s Gospel was just such a person.  For nearly forty years he spent his days beside that pool, waiting for someone to put him in the pool’s healing waters.  He couldn't do it himself; he needed someone - anyone - to do it for him.  But no one did.

When Jesus comes to this man , he asks a remarkable question. ‘Do you want to be well?’ 

Is Jesus being rude?  Insensitive?  I mean, what does he think, that this man likes to just sit here?  Maybe, maybe not.

But, we must remember another time, later in the Gospels where Jesus tells us, ‘I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.’  Life with God is meant to be an adventure – and thus it usually involves taking risks.

If we want to receive the gift of eternal life that Jesus came to this earth to give, then we cannot just sit around and do the same old things, day in and day out.  We must be on a journey, one that involves growth, one that involves change, one that involves entering fully into the process of walking with the Lord.

May we be strengthened by our Lenten prayers and practices to go forth and do whatever it takes to be healed, to be made anew, and thus draw ever closer to our ultimate goal of spending eternity in the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.