Same Dilemma, Different Day

One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already 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 5:5-9 (ESV)
 
It seems strange that Jesus would ask someone if they wanted healing. Day after day for years this man was dependent on those who would care for him. He could not help but wonder what life would be like if he were "normal." Yet Jesus asks him this simple question: "Do you want to be healed?"
 
If he was healed, he would have to change his lifestyle and friends and take personal responsibility for his provisions. Those who are healed need to contribute to society, whereas those who remain lame can ask society to care for them. In all probability, this man had developed a lifestyle of dependency that he would have to give up if he were healed.
Therefore, it makes sense to ask him if he wanted healing.
 
Today we see the same dilemma in that those offered healthy alternatives may refuse them because it necessitates a change in lifestyle, friends, and routine. The age-old question is still appropriate to anyone who needs healing: “Do you want to be healed?”


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