I would assume that Jesus asked the man
if he really wanted to get well because he had been lying in that position for
thirty-eight years. Is there anything
that has you paralyzed for years? Have
you ever asked yourself; do you really want to get well?
I know this was a question I had to ask
of myself and a question I have asked of close friends. This can be a hard question to ask and an
even harder question to answer, in truth.
The paralyzed man lying by the pool in
Bethesda did what I believe so many of us do every day, we give an excuse. His excuse was but Jesus, I have no one to
get me into the pool while the water is stirred and by the time I finally can
get in someone gets in before me.
Basically, have pity on me because no
one is helping me, and I am in the physical state that I am in and move
slowly. I think this is such an
important story from the Bible because it touches us on so many levels. You can feel bad for the man because he is an
invalid and seems to not be able to help himself, but at the same time lose patience
with him, because it’s been thirty-eight years, and he hasn’t managed to get in
the pool by himself.
The big question or gut check, I took
from these verses today was, what excuses am I giving Jesus for why I should
remain the same. Isn’t that basically
what the man was doing? Wasn’t he giving
an excuse to remain the same? He was
asking to not have any accountability in his life or responsibility for the
lack of accomplishments he has made. He
was playing victim to his lack of ability.
I’ve had people in my life, some on an
acquaintance level ,and some that are very close and dear to me, that I have
thought, why are you allowing your life to run over you? Why aren’t you standing up and taking control
of the situation you are in?
I know I have to sometimes keep in mind,
that I am not afraid of confrontation and from getting my hands dirty getting
to the problem, resolving it and not everyone is like me, which is very
good! I want to figure everything out,
make it better, move on and not everyone adopts that mentality.
I guess that’s why God has told us not
to Judge each other because we are all created to be individuals, and if we hold
each other to the standards, and behaviors we exhibit, than no one would be good
enough, including ourselves.
Many times we give excuses to why we
can’t do something and I believe most of the time, it’s because we are too
afraid of stepping out of our comfort zone, and into change.
A very good friend of mine has taught me
one thing and that is, the one thing you can always count on is that change will
happen, whether we like it, or not. The
one constant thing in our lives is that things are going to change.
That is a very true statement, if you are
fortunate enough to hear it, learn it and do it. There are many people I know that are
fighting change. They are hanging by
tooth and nail, as they say, to how things are or how they used to be. We should not be afraid of change. We should
welcome and embrace change. Change is
here to bring us to a new level of ourselves.
Change happens to broaden your horizons or mold you into a better
version of yourself.
Just imagine if you would have never
changed through the years, and you stopped evolving mentally at the age of
thirteen, but physically you were changing with your maturity. We would be so completely useless to the
world if we stayed in that space mentally.
We would be confused, probably very emotionally unstable, and what would
we be able to offer the world? If you
look at change as an opportunity, instead of a punishment, maybe we wouldn’t
fight the changes that we each need to make.
Have you ever seen the man who is way
too old to be driving in the red convertible sports car? Yes, me too, this guy is fighting
change. He is trying to desperately hold
on to his youth and doing it through the car.
We have each seen this guy, and have had the same thoughts of why he has
this kind of car. This is an example of
someone fighting change.
I think that we can hide behind our fear
of change, and convince ourselves that we don’t need to change. That is obviously not the truth, since in
verse 8, Jesus commands the paralyzed man to get up! Pick up his bed and
walk! If Jesus wanted us all to stay
the same and not change into a better version of ourselves, closer to the
perfect image of God, we are striving to be, he wouldn’t have told the man to
Get Up, and to pick up his bed and walk.
He would have said Ok, and accepted his excuse.
I am sure that the man completely
believed his excuse, and maybe that was his way of changing, without actually
having to change. This is like the man
with the red convertible. He’s changed,
but his car is making him think, that he has stayed the same. Like my friend said, the one thing we can
count on is change.
We tell ourselves excuses everyday for
why we can’t do something, go somewhere or help someone. We all do it.
We make an excuse, which is only to make ourselves feel better with what
we are not doing. I know I should work
out and eat better but my excuse is, I don’t have time or the weather is bad,
but I know it’s just an excuse, or a way for me to get out of doing what I know
I am supposed to do.
When we make an excuse to Jesus do you
think he believes the excuse? Why don’t
we just not lie, which is basically what an excuse is, and tell him that we
either don’t think he’s right, or that what he has told us to do isn’t important
enough to us, to do it. Ouch! Right!
Could you imagine telling Jesus, you
know the one who died for you, that you just don’t want to do something he has
told you to do? I am sure Jesus didn’t
want to go on the cross to die for me; as a matter of fact I know it. Because he asked God to remove this cup from
him, meaning Father please don’t make me do this, I don’t want to do this. Though, he didn’t want to do it, because it
was a pain that none of us will ever know… he did it! The second part of that plea to God was but
Father if this is what you need me to do I will do it! I WILL DO IT!
This is what our attitudes need to be
like when we get the nudge from the Holy Spirit giving us direction. We shouldn’t be making excuses or acting like
we didn’t hear the Holy Spirit making our flesh crawl with what we are doing
wrong. If you need to, say to God, I
don’t want to do this, and if you can, please take this away from me, so I
don’t have to endure this change in my life… BUT if this is your will Lord,
than I will do it.
God will appreciate your honesty, more
than He will appreciate your excuses. He
will even give you the ability to go through the change, with grace, mercy,
patience and love. He will give you who
He is to help you get through the pain of changing.
Change is something that we all must go
through, and will go through until Jesus comes to get us and we are changed in a
twinkling of an eye. We can choose to
fight change, surrender to it and ask for God’s help to go through it. I can tell you either way, change is
happening, so take the route that is less painful for yourself, and surrender to
it.
I believe that change is an opportunity, that
I don’t always like, but try to stay thankful for. If the paralyzed man by Bethesda, would have stayed
lying on the ground after Jesus commanded him to get up, he would have stayed a
paralyzed man for the rest of his life, but he got up! The man was instantly healed and made well
(change) and got up and walked.
The process of lying there for
thirty-eight years was probably very sad for the man by the pool in Bethesda,
but the opportunity to change was worth the outcome of healing. Meaning, when we make it through the change
that we need to go through, on the other side of the pain is rest, healing,
peace, increased joy and blessings.
Change doesn’t always have to be this
story of doom and gloom, because most of the time after you go through it all,
the change that you were resisting is in fact the very thing that has elevated
you to a higher sense of self, and closer to being the person God created you to
be!!!
Don’t fight off your change for
thirty-eight years… Get Up! Pick Up your Bed and Walk!!!
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