Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Tough Question

I wonder what he was thinking? And, who was he? But, he (whoever "he" was) had been an invalid for 38 years. He had not been able to work ro take care of himself for all those years. Now this stranger comes to him and asks if he wants to get well?

Well DID he?

2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When 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?”
7“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
- John 5:2-9

When Jesus asked the question, the man was faced with an avalanche of problems. What would he do if he was healed? Now he would have to get a job and look out for himself. What would he do? Did he have any family? If not, he would have to feed and clothe himself. Did he ever "say" he wanted to be healed?

What about us?

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