March 31, 2022
“Do you wish to be well?” John 5:06
This question from Jesus may seem a bit odd. For He is asking a man paralyzed for years if he wants to be healed. Or is that really what Christ is asking?
Perhaps this is a great question for you and me today. Do we really want to be well? Oh, we want the ills to heal, the needs to be met and life to be more comfortable. But do we want to be well?
This story of the man, paralyzed for almost four decades sitting besides the pool of Bethesda, is well known. He says, yes, I’d like to be healed. The problem is, you see, I can’t even get anyone to help me get up and into the stirred waters. Sure enough, Jesus heals the man (and subsequently draws the ire of the Pharisees because He did this on the Sabbath).
The interaction wasn’t over. Just as our interaction with Christ doesn’t stop right after our relationship with Him begins. The two meet again, this time in the temple. Christ was blunt, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may befall you.”
It was obvious that the man was physically well. Jesus was clear that He wanted to make sure that the man could say, n the words of Horatio Spafford , “It is well, it is well with my soul.”
As we look forward to the celebration of Christ’s victory over death, may we always remember that our faith is not some “one and done” transaction. We were sick. We wished to be well. May we celebrate a new birth and a new life transformed by Christ.
Dear Lord, can we ever truly thank You enough for all You given to us? Life, and then your Son for new life. May we live that new life victoriously for You in all we do. Thank you, thank you, for making us well.
Stuart Kellogg
WBS Trustee
P.S. Check our Stuart’s website and Book here: https://bit.ly/PostCovidChurchBook