A LESSON FROM THE LAME
“A man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him lying there, and he knew that the man had been sick for such a long time; so he asked him, 'Do you want to get well?' The sick man answered, 'Sir, I don't have anyone here to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am trying to get in, somebody else gets there first.' Jesus said to him, 'Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.' Immediately the man got well; he picked up his mat and started walking.” – John 5:5-9a (GNB)
Have you ever felt stuck, completely unable to move, constantly battling strong currents as you paddle through rough waters? Sure, we all have. But what do we do when these challenges persist, consist, and resist our growth and structure in Christ and in life?
The unnamed man in this text mirrors situations in our own lives, similar to other unnamed figures in the Bible. We can often translate the text ourselves, inserting our names, and personalizing it to reflect how Christ wants us to respond to what we are reading. This man was part of a large crowd of sick people at the Pool of Bethesda. Clearly, association brings about assimilation, but not all associations and assimilations align with God's plans for your life. Who are you around? Are you sure you should be around them? Have you asked God about them, or about “it”?
In life, we can become comfortable, even when that comfort is rooted in uncomfortable choices. This man had been sick for thirty-eight years. His time seemed to come and go, bringing hope and then despair. He was close to help, yet far enough away that someone else always obtained it before him. Have you ever experienced bypasses in your life? Perhaps you just learned to drive on the highway of life, and now you are on the side of the road, broken down, and being passed by everyone—scared of change, scared of trying again, and scared that failure waits at the next off-ramp?
This man could easily claim that as his life story. Every so often, people would enter the water and be healed. While the text doesn't offer much theological context on that specific point of faith, it clearly happened—just not for him. However, the next scene of his life was about to change. Metaphorically speaking, the car on the side of the road was being repaired, and the engine was about to crank.
Jesus, walking by, saw the man and asked a seemingly strange question: “Do you want to get well?” The answer might seem obvious, but Jesus requires our permission to join alongside our lives, both in salvation and in Christian living. The man, genuine in his answer, explained that he was unable to move and that nobody could or would help him. He was being passed by, not pushed forward. His association and location were driving his condition to persist and even worsen.
Jesus then told the man to do the impossible: get up, pick up his bed, and walk. It didn't make logical sense, but Jesus said it, and this man believed it. He didn’t yet know Jesus was God, but something in him said, “I’ve tried everything else; let’s give this a try.” Everything about this man's life changed immediately. But what can we learn from this long tenure of deprivation, separation, and dislocation?
The Man Was Persistent – Although failure after failure happened, he was still showing up. Regardless of the hopelessness that obviously ran deep in his heart, he kept going to the place where he believed he could be freed. Persistence paid off. Imagine if on that specific day he had said, “Oh, I won’t go; it doesn’t happen for me anyway. Plus, nobody is going to help me, and I’m just tired of it all.” That would have been the day he missed breaking through the mundane life he had.
The Man Was Obedient – Jesus said, "Pick up the bed and walk." The man obeyed immediately, and in the process of obedience, his miracle took place. He took God at His Word, even without knowing it was God. How, then, can we, who have the Word of God, not take it to heart, believe it, obey it, and receive the resulting blessings—both naturally and, more importantly, spiritually?
The Man Desired Change – Many times in life, God can use down times to humble us. Paul said it best: “I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little” (Philippians 4:12). There comes a time, however, when you move from feeling, "This is making me humble," to, "This isn't God’s full will for my life. God has more, something else to do for Him, and people to reach for His glory." God isn’t always “pushing you down to teach you something”; sometimes, He is asking you to “rise up and walk.” In other words, you have somewhere to go. Get ready, because the car is fixed; get back on the road and continue on with your life.
Prayer: Father God, in Jesus' name, I pray that I will have the faith to believe—a faith that makes me get up. God, free me from anything keeping me down, in bondage, or staying in a place where You have chosen me to leave. God, help me to follow You, because You have something for me to do. My life is not over; help me to not forget that. God, take my condition, change it, and help others to recognize, “This is from Jesus.” I thank You that I am turning the corner, now, in Jesus' name. Amen.