True change occurs when we decide to follow Jesus.
Yesterday, our sermon was about the man found lying on a mat in John, chapter five. He had been sick for 38 years when Jesus just happened to walk by him. For all of those years, this man had been hanging out at the pool of Bethesda, where the story was that an angel would stir the water from time to time and the first person in, would be healed.
Our pastor pointed out that after 38 years of trying the same thing, one would think he might look to a different avenue of healing. Was his plan to try for the same cure indefinitely?
I never really thought about it that way. He also pointed out that when Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well, the man gave excuses why he couldn’t. Hmmm, does that sound familiar to those of us living in modern times?
We know that diabetes is an epidemic, yet we add sugar to everything. We know that smoking causes lung cancer, emphysema and leads to heart attacks, yet we smoke. We know that drinking too much alcohol leads to hangovers, yet we drink too much. We know that not exercising leads to weight gain and bone loss, yet we don’t exercise.
Don’t we want to be healthy? Don’t we want to feel good? Why then, do we continue to participate in behaviors that harm our health? Why would we expect a different outcome when we continue to participate in destructive behaviors?
What about our spiritual health? How often have we heard someone say or said ourselves that we wish we knew the Bible better, yet we never try to read it? How about that we wish our faith was stronger, but we only attend worship services a few times a year and only pray when our lives hit rock bottom?
Don’t we want to get better, to feel better, to be better?
Seems that we have a lot in common with the man who had been sick for 38 years. Like him, we are usually really good at coming up with excuses and often, like him, we are simply following the crowd. Everyone believed that healing would come from that pool, so everyone went there, yet few people were truly healed there. Why did so many people stay?
Interestingly, Jesus didn’t care about his excuses. He didn’t reason with him. He didn’t cut him off. He offered him another way. Jesus told him to, “Stand up, pick up your mat and walk!” John 5:8
And at last the man was healed, because he was obedient to Jesus. Jesus told him to stand up and get going and he did. Just like that, the man’s life was changed forever.
I suppose the question for us is what areas in our lives need healing or need to change for us to be well? Have we been doing the same thing for as long as we can remember, but still expect change?
This story reminds us that Jesus calls us to something different. He calls us to listen to Him, to obey Him, to trust Him and then to pick up our mats, or whatever crutch we may be using and get going.
What will your answer be?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂