One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
John 5:5-6
Do you want to be well? Really Jesus, is that your question? Why do you even need to ask? Of course we want to be well. Isn't that obvious? To remain ill when not necessary - who would choose that? Come on.
Ironically, each and every one of us. We humans, in our perfectly imperfect state, will at some point find ourselves ill. Sometimes it is physically, often it is emotionally and spiritually. Jesus question here is all encompassing. Jesus is asking us if we want to be fully well - in body, mind, and spirit. If our answer is "yes", it's time to rise, pick up our mat, and start walking.
We all have aspects of our lives that are broken. We all have character traits that are not healthy. This is not news to God. God is fully aware of who we are and what we've done. We don't have to hide, but we do have to be willing to bring all of this dis-ease to God for healing. We can't do it by ourselves. Many have tried to no avail - - take the man in the story. He was ill for 38 years. It wasn't until Jesus came by that he was able to rise and walk.
The spiritual life is a daily progression. Every morning upon waking, we are given the opportunity to answer the question, do you want to be well? If we answer "yes", for this day we can choose to let God run the show. We can choose to consciously bring God into our daily living and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our actions and decisions. This is where we will find the ability to turn over our brokenness for healing, and find the power to live as our holy selves.
Prayer: Healing God, we give you thanks for the love you have for us; a love that is so strong, that you desire to heal our brokenness. Sometimes, though, our brokenness is so comfortable that it is hard to let it go. Help us, O God, to become willing to release it all to you for healing and transformation so that we may be witnesses of your power and compassion for the world.
Ironically, each and every one of us. We humans, in our perfectly imperfect state, will at some point find ourselves ill. Sometimes it is physically, often it is emotionally and spiritually. Jesus question here is all encompassing. Jesus is asking us if we want to be fully well - in body, mind, and spirit. If our answer is "yes", it's time to rise, pick up our mat, and start walking.
We all have aspects of our lives that are broken. We all have character traits that are not healthy. This is not news to God. God is fully aware of who we are and what we've done. We don't have to hide, but we do have to be willing to bring all of this dis-ease to God for healing. We can't do it by ourselves. Many have tried to no avail - - take the man in the story. He was ill for 38 years. It wasn't until Jesus came by that he was able to rise and walk.
The spiritual life is a daily progression. Every morning upon waking, we are given the opportunity to answer the question, do you want to be well? If we answer "yes", for this day we can choose to let God run the show. We can choose to consciously bring God into our daily living and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our actions and decisions. This is where we will find the ability to turn over our brokenness for healing, and find the power to live as our holy selves.
Prayer: Healing God, we give you thanks for the love you have for us; a love that is so strong, that you desire to heal our brokenness. Sometimes, though, our brokenness is so comfortable that it is hard to let it go. Help us, O God, to become willing to release it all to you for healing and transformation so that we may be witnesses of your power and compassion for the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment