Do You Want To Be Made Whole?
Imagine that you have been lame for thirty-eight years. A man approaches you and asks, “Do you want to be made whole?” What would your answer be?
The answer seems like a no-brainer. “Of course I want to be healed!” If the answer to the question is so obvious, why does Jesus ask the man at the Pool of Bethesda that question (Jn 5:1-15)? I don’t think the answer is as obvious as many of us assume.
Some people don’t want to be healed. Some people are quite comfortable in their lives of misery, and they don’t want out. This is the only life they’ve known. The abused wife refuses to leave and defend her husband. The captive develops affection and loyalty for the captor. The drug addict or drunk, who sometimes hates the consequences of his sin, can’t imagine life without being inebriated. Respectable middle-class American Christians live in miserable marriages but refuse to abandon the selfishness and pride that cause the conflict. The person who suffered abuse and carries the guilt and shame as a result, embraces “victim” as a fundamental identity and uses it to manipulate and survive, but never wants to assume control of her life. The man with the “Will work for food” sign, who receives enough handouts to get by, is satisfied.
No, the answer isn’t as obvious as we might initially think. We hate the consequences of our sin-sickness, but we hate the way of healing even more. Everything will change, and I fear the change. I am comfortable here. I know this life. I don’t know what it is like to take responsibility and be expected to be productive. I fear the changes I will have to make if I am healed.
When Jesus asked this “sick man” (that’s what John calls him) this question, his answer let Jesus know that he wanted to be healed. The Pool of Bethesda (“house of covenant love”) was healing water when the angel troubled it, but he “had no man” to take him to the water. Before him stands the One who gives living water (Jn 4:10). Jesus is “the man” he was looking for without realizing it. He desires healing, and Jesus heals him.
Jesus continues to do the same for those who desire healing, but you must look to him in faith. Looking to him in faith means that we must conform our lives to all that he demands of us. You cannot hold on to what makes you sick and enjoy the benefits of healing. You must give up on the sin that keeps you in its grip and follow Jesus on the path of life.
Do you genuinely want to be made whole?
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