What Do You Want?

"Do you want to get well?" 

I don't know where you are in your life...in your relationships, in your journey with God, in your finances, in your prayer habits, in your attitudes, in your health, in your everything and anything that might be a problem area for you.  But Jesus asks a question to the man by the pool, who for 38 years had been unable to help himself down to the water for healing (from time to time an angel of the Lord would come and stir up the water, and the first one into the pool would be cured).  The question He asked the invalid on his mat is the same question He asks of us.

Like the man stuck on his mat, we can create for ourselves a hopeless situation.  The invalid sat there, waiting for someone else to help him...but everyone else was too worried about themselves to help him.  We can do the same thing when we're stuck in a problem area.  We can rely on ourselves or even on others for help, but where human efforts fail - Jesus is right there asking "Do you want to get well?"  When we turn to the source of hope that is never failing, we are no longer trapped.  Who knows what God has planned through the things we experience, but He is our true source of healing and the forgiveness of our sins.

Another part of this I thought about today are the people who walked right past the invalid on his mat, never looking at him or offering a hand to help him get to the water.  How many times have I done this...not really looking at someone I encounter during my daily life...how many have I rushed past an opportunity to do good, only worrying about myself and my needs?  More food for thought I guess...