Always Someone Else

 "After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids -- blind, lame, and paralyzed. [For an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was made whole of whatever disease he had.] One man who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had alreay been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, take up your bed, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath." - John 5:1-9

 

When I read this passage, there was one thing that stuck out to me. When JESUS, the literal Son of God, asked this paralytic man if he wanted healed, the paralytic man responded with an excuse. Jesus asked him a simple yes or no question. DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED? It's kind of funny, if you ask me. I mean, who in their right mind would tell Jesus that they didn't want the healing being offered? Like here (offers hands out), I have the solution to your problem, and you rejecting it. I'm pretty sure that should be listed under the definition of insanity. Sure, every now and then, this angel would come down to "spike" the water with healing properties, but this is JESUS. This wasn't a first come, first serve ordeal here. 

"Do you want to be healed?" In verse 7, the sick man answered, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me." Excuses, excuses, excuses. You know how I understood that? To me, the sick man was saying, "Always someone else, never me." For thirty-eight long years, this man was lying there WATCHING OTHER PEOPLE GET THEIR HEALING. I'm sorry, but if I've been there thirty-eight years waiting, I know I would have been rather unpleasant to deal with. The first ten people or so, I'd be happy for them. I love seeing people receive their blessings. It's a reminder of how good our God is. But after that, that's when the impatience kicks in. Like, "God, I've been waiting here for my turn, dude. I need my healing too. It's MY turn." A few more years go by, more people getting healed, and yet, I still hadn't received my healing? I would've just went home after that. I only have so much patience. But remember, this guy is a paralytic. It's not like he can just get tired of waiting, get up, and go home. No, this dude was stuck at the side of the pool WATCHING these people receive miracle after miracle. I imagine he felt so left out. Sour with God even. The "Always someone else, never me" mindset can be paralyzing. This sick guy, we'll call him Sam (because I'm tired of calling him the sick guy), had eventually fallen into that mindset after years of watching others get healed before him. 

"Take up your bed". That is what Jesus told Sam. You see, when I think about my bed, I know it's at home. And home for me is where I find comfort, even though my family is crazy. But they're mine. My bed, though, is my space. I don't let people just come get into my bed. That unmade queen sized bed is like my sanctuary. I get to be completely me without having to worry about how I look or what I wear. When I lay down, pulling the sheets up right under my chin, that is when the worries of the world seem to fade. Now imagine Sam again. He had been at the side of Bethedsa for thirty-eight years that he had made himself at home. His bed was with him in the waiting. That tells me that he had gotten so comfortable where he was that it didn't seem like he was in a rush to get his healing. The waiting is not meant to be comfortable. DMV's and doctor offices have cold, plastic chairs that make your butt go kinda numb after sitting there a while. Those are the kind of chairs that make you want to get up and get the dang thing over with already. You won't catch me sitting in one of those chairs for the duration of thirty-eight years. No sir.

I couldn't get over the fact that Sam brought his bed. And then it dawned on me. Sometimes, our healing that God wants to give us is right there in reach. It's not that reaching it is necessarily hard. But there is a shift that has to take place. As humans, we use our illnesses, situations, or disabilities as a crutch. We get so comfortable in them that we eventually make ourselves at home. And that is where we find our identity. This man was an invalid. A paralytic. A sick man. And for thirty-eight years he accepted that. I'm not saying that he wasn't paralyzed, but instead of people knowing him by name, they knew him by his ailment. Can you imagine the shock that came when he was healed? When Jesus healed Sam, people could no longer call him the sick man. After thirty-eight years, it's a shock that he even knew his name still. It hadn't been used in soo long. For me, that's the scary part. I get so comfortable in how things are, that the slightest change disrupts my whole world. I can't imagine how thrown off he was to be called "Sam" once again. 

"Always someone else, never me". You want to be healed? Take up your bed. Your home is no longer there. You are no longer allowed to find comfort in the place that confined you from growing. It's going to be strange at first. Uncomfortable even. But your healing is just that. Your healing. God isn't going to look at you and say, "Nope. I don't think I'm giving him/her that blessing, I'll give it to their friend." No. The blessings. The healing that God has for you is YOURS. Even when you don't think you deserve it. Even when you mess up. The beautiful thing about God is that He meets us where we're at to help us get where we need to be. He isn't withholding the blessing from you. Your mindset alone defines you. Are you locking yourself in a cage that was never locked to begin with?