Do you wish to get well? (John 5:1-9a) 230207
I have some bad habits. One of which is to squeeze pimples! The feeling of getting the pimple squeezed is painful but there is a sense of relief. It is like getting some out dirty out of your face under the skin. But I also know that using my hands to squeeze pimples is very unhygienic and infact it can be harmful to my face. But I just enjoy it. Everytime I have a pimple on my face, I will keep touching it and try to squeeze it out. And you know what? It takes longer time for the pimple to get subside and sometimes the pimple might get even bigger and get infected.
In today passage, there was a man paralyzed for thirty eight years (v5) and was trying get to the pool of Bethesda so that he might be healed if he could reach the pool first when the angel of the Lord stirred the pool (v4). Jesus came to this man and asked him a very strange question, "Do you wish to get well?" (v6) Are there anyone who doesn’t want to get well? Was that a strange question? The answer seemed so obvious! But if we do a honest check of our hearts, we maybe think otherwise.
Do I want my pimple to go off as soon as possible? Well the answer will obviously be a ‘Yes’, but habitually it is a ‘Not really, I am enjoying the squeezing process’. This applies to sin in our lives. we may not have some sinful habbit or addiction, but we may still have sinful thoughts and emotions. Ask any smoker, he or she knows that smoking is bad for health and waste money. If you ask him or her does he or she wants to quit, he or she may give a outward ‘yes’, but deep inside and habitually, he or she will still enjoy the sensation of smoking and the short boost of refreshing of mind that smoking brings about. Therefore, the answer is actually a ‘no’.
Maybe you have someone whom you don’t really like or someone who have hurt you or done wrong to you, and you literally hate him (include her)! You do not want to forgive him, because you think that by doing so, you have the power of forgiveness or you like the feeling of being sympathized by others who know that you are a poor victim. But the Bible tells us that we need to forgive others just like God has forgiven us (Matt 6:12). And we know that without forgiveness, there is a barrier to healing, both inner and outer. I learn this from Freedom and Wholeness, and this is very true; many Bible scholars and Christian leaders have found the relationship between forgiveness and healing to be very biblical. Even modern psychology research also supports this truth. Therefore, during counselling session, when I ask people to forgive those who have hurt them, it is really a struggle for many people, because they still want to hold on to their wounds and believing that by doing so, they can feel better and those who have hurt them be in guilt forever!
Do you wish to be freed from hurts of the past? Do you wish to be healed? Do you wish to get well? Jesus said, ‘Arise, take up your pallet, and walk.’ (v9) So, get up, take up your past experiences, throw away all the bad habits, cast away all the wrong emotions, leave behind all the unforgiveness and hurts, and walk with Jesus, walk through His Words and promises. Only when we begin to replace our bad habits, sinful thoughts, wrong emotions and unforgiveness with the Jesus walking with us and His Words regenerate us, then we can get well.
Do you wish to get well? Go and do likewise.
