What an amazing question Jesus asked this paralysed man: ‘Do you want to get well?’ Who wouldn’t? You might be surprised! Kay Arthur tells of passing a beggar one day on a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. As he sat begging, his trouser leg was pulled up to reveal his terrible sores. She writes: ‘My nurse’s heart brought my feet to a halt. I wanted to bend down and shield the open wound from the dust…It should be washed, medicated, and dressed by someone who cared. My friend gently took me by my elbow and propelled me towards our destination. I was a tourist and did not know about these things. She then proceeded to tell me that this man did not wish to be made well. He made his living from his wound! As I looked back…I caught one last glimpse of someone who was less than what he could have been.’ The man lying helpless on a cot by the pool called Bethesda had been there for thirty-eight years. Question: how long does it take before a problem becomes a way of life? Jesus said to him, ‘Get up…and walk’ (v. 8 NIV), the inference being that it’s time to get up and go to work – to become a parent to your children, a partner to your husband or wife, a contributor to your community, a solution to someone else’s problem – it’s time to take responsibility for your life. Are you letting your past or present circumstances keep you stuck and stop you from moving forward? If Jesus asked you, ‘Do you want to get well emotionally, physically, and spiritually?’ what would your answer be? Today let Jesus make you whole!
