John 5:6 “When Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?””  The question that Jesus asked this man, “do you want to get well?”, has me stuck in my study through the book of John. I read this first part of chapter 5 over a week ago and I’m still there because of these few words. A simple question really, with what seems to be an obvious answer, why wouldn’t the man want to get well? But Jesus asked the question so there must have been a reason for it, right? Something else that seems significant is that Jesus approached the man, it wasn’t the other way around like we often see in Jesus’ healings. So why? What was the point?

The man’s response is telling in that he basically is making an excuse, saying “well I want to get well but no one will help me”. You kind of get the impression that he is not even trying, but instead has become content with his position in life. In this story, the man saw his hope for healing in a pool with supposed “healing powers”. But also believed his only hope for that healing was someone taking pity on him and helping him into the water. Look at his words “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Which brings another question – why, if you’ve been in need of healing for a number of years and this pool has the potential to do that, would you not be lying right on the edge so you could be first?! 

Jesus, of course demonstrates compassionate mercy as well as his power by healing the man and telling him to “get up, gather your things, stop sinning and move on” (my paraphrase). But the interaction and lesson I believe goes deeper. Jesus not only can heal us physically, but also spiritually, emotionally and relationally. Which begs the question I’ve been asking myself for the past week “Do I want to get well?” it’s really a question I believe Jesus is asking us all “do you (insert your name) want to get well?”. Getting well will look different for all of us. Some do need physical healing or deliverance from addiction, but many more need spiritual, emotional and relational healing. And yet, how many of us are content with what is and has been, that we have settled for the status quo? 

Personally, as I’ve thought and prayed about this question, I’ve come to the troubling realization that I don’t know how to honestly answer Him. There is no doubt that I need healing in many areas, but I fear the hard work that often comes along with “getting better”. And I’m going to be honest and say I’m tired of hard! I’m ready for some easy not only in my life, but in the lives of my family and friends as well. Perhaps the bigger issue however is my pride. You see since I can’t seem to figure out how to make myself better, I assume God can’t either. Foolish I know. For instance, I am of the age where hot flashes and night sweats are a never ending struggle. I am sick and tired of them! But up to this point I have been unwilling to do the things I know need to be done to more fully address them. I just want them to end, without doing any of the work necessary for a change to occur. In a weird way I’ve become content in just living with the constant temperature change and complaining about it. 

This morning as I was walking and praying, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying “Be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16). In the gentle way He often does, He reminded me that I was made for more, I don’t have to settle for just okay. In fact John 10:10, Jesus says “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”  What that tells me is that I have to want to get well. It is impossible to strive after the holiness we are called to without a deep desire to “get well” in all areas of our lives (physically, spiritually, and emotionally). I believe what God is telling me is “Stop being content and making excuses. Get up, do the hard things necessary (this includes asking for help) and follow me everywhere I lead”.