It’s a sunny day, and I’m just laying here by the pool waiting in anticipation. It’s that time of year again, when maybe, just maybe, my situation could change. But…if it doesn’t, I’m become accustomed to this life. It may not be ideal in most people’s eyes, but it’s okay for me. I’m a regular. Everyone knows me, even though I have been here longer than most; nearly 40 years. Many call me an invalid because I can’t get up and walk, however, I just consider it my life. People are good to me here. They have become family in many ways. They take care of my needs, help me wash my clothing, make sure I have food to eat. It used to bother me, but I’ve gotten used to it. Life is simple – just the way I like it. Soon the pool will begin to stir – that time of year when someone gets healed. As much as that sounds like a good deal…I’ll never make in it in time – I never do. Besides if I was healed, where would I go? What would I do?
About midday as I am waiting for my noon meal, along comes this man. He just looks like a regular guy to me, but this day, there was nothing regular about him. He walked right up to me. After a brief and somewhat uncomfortable greeting, he looks me in the eyes. You know, there was something about his eyes….something powerful. The next words he spoke caused me alarm. He said; “Do you want to be made whole?” Now, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I HAVE been laying here for many, many years. I do make a concerted effort to get in the stirred up waters. But what kind of a question was that? DO I WANT TO BE MADE WHOLE? WHO IS THIS GUY? He doesn’t look like a rabbi or anyone with special powers. But, that question - well…of course I want….of course I ....
Wait! If I am made whole, everything about my world is going to change radically. My friends, my home, my lifestyle. Wait – maybe, maybe I need to think about this. If I am made whole, I have to get a job and this life is all I have known. Do I want to be made whole? Do I? Again, I look at those eyes, searching for answers, but it’s as though he is pleading, reassuring, loving, caring and I think, YES! I want to be made whole. I want to get out of my comfort zone! I want to have a new life – live it to the fullest, but how do I know this isn’t just another ray of hope that will be destroyed if nothing happens. I am in a place of decision.
One last time, I look at those eyes and I find myself saying, “YES! I want to be made whole!” I am thinking that he is going to help me get into those waters, but what happens next is the strangest of all. He said, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” It wasn’t what he said, it was the way he said it. He had this authority that made me believe that I could do what he said, and when I tried, I GOT UP. I WALKED! I was healed -HEALED without the water, healed because I obeyed his command. I picked up that mat and I headed straight for town. Life as I knew it had ended. A new life had been given to me and I wasn’t about to waste it staying where I have always been.
Obviously, I’ve taken some liberty with a Biblical story. This is one that has always intrigued me, because I see so many people today who are willing to live a compromised life of comfort then to get up and get out of the wasteland and walk into all God has. Where are you today? Are you spending your time saying “I can’t” or are you asking God to take you where you’ve never been to do what you have never done? The choice is ours. God can heal and restore ANYTHING in your life – no matter how bad, how deep, how painful. And when He does, He gives you more than you could have ever asked for or imagined! SO the question is your today, “Do you want to be made whole?” I hope you'll say YES!
No comments:
Post a Comment