Do You Want To Be Made Well?
Do you want to be made well?
That’s a silly question, isn’t it? It’s like asking a man dangling from a cliff if he needs a hand or asking a woman who fell into the sea if she wants a life preserver to be thrown to her. The answer is obvious. Nobody wants to lose their grip and fall to their death, nobody wants to drown in the sea, and nobody wants to be unwell, right?
Maybe the question isn’t as silly as we think, nor is the answer quite as clear-cut. Jesus never asked silly questions. When He encountered a man sitting at the pool of Bethesda (who had suffered with an infirmity for thirty-eight long years) He asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:5-6)
Of course he did. That’s why he was sitting at the pool with the great multitude of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people waiting for a miraculous healing. Tradition told them that an angel once stirred up the water in the pool, and whoever stepped into it first would be healed of their disease. This moment of healing hadn’t come for this poor man, and he thought it was because he had no one to help him to the water when it was stirred up.
What he needed to be made well was Jesus. Jesus told him, "Rise, take up your bed, and walk," and he did. He was healed. He did what Jesus told him to do.
We hear about the cure for death when we hear the gospel preached, when we read our bibles, and Jesus asks us, "Do you want to be healed?” and the answers vary.
“Not now."
“Maybe later."
“Definitely later."
“Yes, but my way."
These answers look different, but they aren’t. Any answer but "yes" is a clear "no, Jesus, I do not want your healing.” Like the old hymn says, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear."
Maybe you’ve been thinking about accepting that gracious offer of salvation and beginning a life in Christ. Perhaps you have walked away from God and you are ready to get your life back on track. If not, aren’t you getting tired of telling Jesus no? Aren’t you exhausted with going through life with no purpose and no hope? Only Jesus can give you that.
We have two worship services each Sunday at Blue Springs church of Christ. The good news of salvation from sin and a new life in Christ is going to be preached. Come worship and learn with us! Your life can change this Sunday.
Do you want to be made well?
-Eric Bullock, Evangelist
