John 5.6 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that
he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be
healed?” (ESV)
Sometimes, it’s a comfort zone thing; it’s all in what we
get used to. However He knew it, whether through divine omniscience, or that He’d
just seen him there often, or someone had told Him, Jesus knew the dude had
been there a long time. That’s what
the text says: [Jesus] knew that he had
already been there a long time…
And knowing what He did, Jesus asked, “Do you want to be healed?” Sometimes we’ve
been where we’ve been for so long we can’t conceive of any other reality; we
might’ve even forgotten why we’re there at all. It’s a comfort zone kind of
thing. I don’t know why I’ve been this
way for so long, but now I don’t even know what to do about it.
The lame man’s problem was he was so focused on getting
into the pool that he couldn’t seem to see anything else; all that mattered to
him was the pool and the frustration of trying to get into the water before
someone else did to steal his chance at healing. He’d been doing this for a
long time – thirty-eight years to be specific. You’d think after thirty-eight
years he’d have figured it out. Apparently he hadn’t.
I think maybe, just maybe, Jesus’ question caught him off-guard:
do you want to be healed? (I’ve been
here so long I don’t know what I want!) The Lord knows how long we’ve been
where we’ve been, the pain we have, the grudges we hold, and the unforgiveness
right over there living on the couch of our heart. To the man there was no God –
only a pool. To the man there was no solution other than that stinking pool.
The man was a Jew and for him there was no Savior… only a pool of water and a
fiercely held belief that in that pool was the answer to his dilemma.
I often dream of a different life with a different
meaning and a different outcome. I dream and regret. There is one thing about
regrets, (and the what if’s); they’re
not real. At this age and stage the only thing I have left is God. You’d think
the man at the pool might’ve come to that conclusion as well. I realize that
the next few years of my life may present some challenges, but they will also
present some opportunities: Do you want
to be healed? In one regard it’s a rebuke, in another it’s a relief. It all
depends on how we look at it.
I have little faith in the systems of men: they promise a
bunch, but deliver little. I don’t want to be left holding that bag. In a
sense, God is asking me: Do you trust Me,
and believe in My promises? (Do you want to be healed?) Or are you trying to
get into that pool? Do I find my solutions in God? My peace in God? My rest
in God? Or, am I trying to get into some scheme to do it all on my own. I’ve
run out of solutions; I don’t trust myself anymore.
Father, this story makes me think about the pools I so
value as the answer to my problems (which are few; a lot fewer that I think). I
want to be healed and after fifty-eight years, I want to be healed by You. The
road to the end may have some twists and turns, but I’m going to believe in You
and remind myself of Your promises; and trust You have what I need. Help me to
believe and to live accordingly – amen.
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