Welcome to Thursday, December 19, 2024! It’s Christmas week, and we’re excited to host eight “Christmas on the Hill” services from Saturday through Tuesday. Check it out here! This week, we’ll journey through the Gospel of John. Today, we’ll listen in on a conversation between Jesus and a man who was confused because he had settled for a lesser Gospel. It still happens today. Read on...
Today's Reading:
John 5,6
Scripture
“When Jesus saw him lying there, and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir,’ the invalid answered. ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred…’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!’ At once, the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked” (John 5:6-8).
Observation
This man had been sick for 38 years, waiting for someone to toss him into the healing waters of Bethesda. But with one single question, Jesus cut straight to the heart of the matter: “Do you want to be healed?”
The man’s response revealed his hopelessness. He lamented that there was no one to help him into the pool. His disappointment had caused him to settle for a lesser Gospel—one that made it easier to accept his condition. His faith had become a coping mechanism rather than an overcoming power.
Instead of indulging the man’s victim mentality, Jesus threw the ball back into his court and said, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”
And that was it! The man obeyed. He picked up his mat and walked. No elaborate ceremony. No dependence on a good Samaritan passing by. Simply obedience. In an instant, his entire life was forever changed.
Application
I wonder how many times I’ve “waited for the waters to move.” How long have I laid on my “mat” of past wounds or personal failures, licking my wounds while settling for a lesser Gospel? How many opportunities for transformation have I missed because I waited for circumstances to be just right—for people to help me, like me, or for all the stars to align before I acted?
But it’s not the stars. It’s the Creator of the constellations who tells me when to move … and it’s up to me to obey.
Jesus handed that man the key to his dreams being fulfilled. No more waiting on others. No more hoping for a good Samaritan to come by. Instead, he looked to Jesus and simply … obeyed.
Is it time for you to be healed? Then be healed! Pick up your mat and walk.
Prayer
“Heal me Oh Lord, and I will be healed. Save me and I will be saved” -Jer. 17:14
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