Daily D – John 5:5-6

by | Sep 9, 2021 | Daily D | 0 comments

One man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 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?”
JOHN 5:5-6 (CSB)

—————————————————————————

He blurted out, “Son, I didn’t ask you how to build a clock. I asked you what time it is.” 

Unaccustomed to having someone talk to me that way, I was grieved by the abruptness and rudeness of the reaction. He wanted a Yes or a No. However, there was more to the story than a simple affirmative or negative could bear. He didn’t care. 

There are plenty of jerks in the world. We do not have to add to their number. 

Jesus stepped into a place where there, “lay a large number of the disabled—blind, lame, and paralyzed,” (verse 3). Jesus did not generalize his action. He particularized it with attention given to a man who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 

After that length of time, you kind of get used to whatever problem you have. It is hard to imagine not having that problem anymore. How about you? Is there any limitation you live with today that has hindered you in some manner for a long, long time? 

Jesus asked a question that sounds like the answer should be obvious. Even so, he asked. Jesus did not impose his will on the man. Jesus did not force a gift on a man who had grown to hold no expectations of a better life. 

“Do you want to get well?”

Notice what happens next. The man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years began building a clock, so to speak. 

“Sir,” the disabled man answered, “I have no no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me,” (verse 7). 

Jesus did not need the clock. He knew what time it was. It was time for this man, with his tepid, kinda, sorta Yes to be made well.

“‘Get up,’ Jesus told him, ‘pick up your mat and walk.’ Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk,” (verse 8 and 9). 

Oftentimes people say Yes with their words and No with their actions. This man did not quite say Yes with his words, but his actions tell us that he was finished explaining how to build a clock and was ready at that time for whatever Jesus offered. 

There are a good handful of lessons here. Let’s consider one in particular. Whatever Jesus asks, the answer should be Yes. 

Do not give Jesus clock-building lessons. 

Do not tell Jesus, “It is what it is.”

Do not tell Jesus, “Now Jesus, once upon a time, I believed in stuff like that. However, some things are just too good to be true. I have learned to do without what you’re talking about and I’m just fine the way I am.”

Do not tell Jesus, “I can’t.” 

Instead, tell Jesus, “Yes. Whatever you want, I want, too.”

Jesus only gives good gifts. You can trust him to be better to you than you would be to yourself. 

Let’s practice today. Choose the Jesus Way first time, every time. See what happens. There is no guarantee everything will be problem-free, but there is a guarantee it will lead to the best it could be. A simple Yes can set you free.

—————————————————————————

I will say Yes to Jesus.

—————————————————————————

Our Father, you know what we want and what we need. You know that we often live beneath your good intentions. We hide behind our fears. We make endless excuses. We worry what someone else will think. Please give us the courage to say Yes with our words and with our reactions to whatever you ask. Amen. 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

CONNECT WITH ME!

Interested in learning more about Church Unique or Life Younique? Send a note through the Get In Touch box or Message me through the Facebook link above.

          Church Unique Logo          Auxano Logo

GET IN TOUCH!

READ MY BLOG!

Daily D – Matthew 1:20-21

Matthew 1:20, 21 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Daily D – Hebrews 6:15

Hebrews 6:15 And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.

Daily D – Hebrews 4:15-16

Hebrews 4:15, 16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

Daily D – Psalm 25:8

Psalm 25:8 The Lord is good and upright;
therefore he shows sinners the way.
He leads the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.

Daily D – Philemon 15, 16

Philemon 15, 16 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave — as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.