Do you want to get well?

Today, Tim gave a great sermon from John 5 where Jesus heals the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. The story is interesting because of the way Jesus engages the man. He seems to be lacking that pity and compassion that he normally has, and he simply asks the man, “Do you want to get well?” The man’s response is not “yes,” or “no,” but he blames others:
“Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
His response is to blame others…to make excuses. No one will help him…He’s not fast enough…It’s hopeless. Jesus responds with “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Jesus engages the man in a unique and incredible way that only Jesus could have done.

The question for some of us can truly be do we want to get well? Some of us can become too comfortable being the victim. We can become comfortable with the pain and sorrow that we are dealing with and we can make it to where we would rather just stay in that situation, rather than get better. And Tim’s not talking about someone with a real need who just lost a loved one or someone who is truly grieving, but what he was talking about are those people who never seem to deal with that they are going through. They seem to relish in the sadness and when given the opportunity to heal they never take it. They make excuses for why they shouldn’t.

I began to think about my own life. How many times do I delay the healing process? How many times do I blame others for my current situation? How many times have I allowed myself to stay in a bad situation because it was comfortable?

The answer is too many times. I kept the weight on for a number of reasons but I’m pretty sure that one of them is because I wanted to feel like I was cared for. See, my dad has always cared about my weight, and I think that at some personal level I felt like I needed to keep the weight on too keep him caring about me. I’m beginning to realize that he cares for me no matter what I weigh, and no matter what I do with my life. Well, I am tired of making excuses and I’m tired of waiting by the pool of Bethesda to just wine and complain. I want to do something about my problems, and I want to get well. I am going to allow Christ to heal me and release my from my past that haunts me, and then I am going to pick up my mat and walk

Pain is sometimes necessary and there are people who are in real pain. My job in life is not to diagnose who is sick and who is “sick.” That’s God’s job, and those people will be held accountable for that. But I am supposed to be there to mourn with the mourners, and to help them in the healing process. But I pray that we will begin to understand when we are truly hurting, and when we are just making excuses so that we don’t have to deal with our problems. Let us allow Jesus Christ to heal our hearts and give us the ability to pick ourselves up and walk.