Learning to Walk

Remember the Samaritan woman, her encounter with Jesus and the power of her life changed?  Well, here’s another cool story from the book of John. (John 5:1-14)

Imagine the pool of Bethesda.  The cool, clear water on a hot day.  As usual, sick and disabled people were gathered in hope of a cure.  Rumor had it that occasionally an angel would stir the water and when that happened, the first one in would be healed.  So they came in droves, and waited…and waited.  The blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.  Infirmities that remind me of my own sinful condition - my own helplessness, blindness, and uselessness - before I met Christ.

Imagine the stress of waiting, and the desperate scurry of folks trying to be the first one in once the water was stirred.  Those who needed healing the most likely also needed help getting in.  Who would be willing to sit around all day just in case they could help?

Imagine sitting there day after day, an invalid for 38 years.  The fruitless time spent, the longing for freedom, the dashed hopes.  It just drives home the point that we can’t save ourselves, nor can others save us.  Only Christ can.  Like the Samaritan woman coming to the well every day, midday to hide her shame.  Every day the same…until an encounter with Jesus.

Now imagine Jesus enters the scene.  “Do you want to get well?” he asks.  “How can I with no one to help me into the water?” the paralyzed man replies.

“Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”  At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked...”  (John 5:8-9)

When the Lord saves, not only must we rise, but we must walk.  Walk in a manner worthy of him.  That’s the incredible power of a life changed – the “change” part.  Reading this made me pause for reflection.  How has my life changed since coming to Christ?  How far have I come?  And how far do I have yet to go?  Jesus gives us the power to make the changes, to live his way, and to keep growing until every area of our life is submitted to him.

Later the man gets hassled by the religious leaders because he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath.  Carrying his mat?  Seriously?  Obviously they missed the point completely.  They were so caught up in religion and rules that they were blind themselves.  Blind to the fact that we’re saved by grace through faith, not by “being good” and “following the rules.” 

The healed man stood up for Jesus saying “the man who healed me told me to do this.”  To me, it sounds like he was implying that anyone who can do what Jesus can should be obeyed.  Simple as that.  And here we see him “walking.”

Later Jesus found the healed man in the temple, likely thanking and praising God.  Maybe even sharing his testimony with people in the courtyard.  So Jesus taught him a little more about this walking thing.  “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14)  In my words, “remember how you have been healed and saved.  With such favor and grace also comes responsibility.  Sin no more.  Walk in the way of the Lord.”  Sin is worse than sickness because it damages our relationship with God, not to mention messes up our lives and the lives of others.

I think of the 30 or so years I waited by the pool, an invalid not even sure what I was waiting for.  Looking back I can see it was meaning, purpose, redemption, and freedom that I couldn’t achieve on my own.  I also think of the 13 or so years I’ve been learning to walk and getting better at it every day, and for that I am grateful.  (Don’t do the math!!)

Like the Samaritan woman, this man was excited to bear witness, through his words and his very life, about Christ who made him well.  That’s the power of a life changed.  I love it!!

Want to go for a walk?