Pick Up Your Mat
"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
Insight
Jesus performed many miracles and today's story highlights one of those. There was a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. He was near a pool that he believed could help him, but he could not get into the water. During this time, there were many pools like this, and people would often flock to them, desperate for relief from whatever ailment they were experiencing. When Jesus first approached him by the pool, the man explained that he wanted to be healed, but he couldn't get into the pool. In response, Jesus told him to get up, take his mat and walk. The verse says that at once, the man was cured, and he did as Jesus had said.
The Jewish leaders were upset that Jesus did this on a Sabbath day, and they tried to stop the man, but Jesus slipped back into the crowd, and the man couldn't find Jesus. We don't know how much time had passed in verse 14 as the story continues.
"Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." The man went away and told the Jews that is was Jesus who had made him well." John 5:14-15
The healed man went to the temple, likely because the law required people to make a thanksgiving offering when they had experienced any healing. Jesus finds the man and reminds him that there is something better even though he is physically healed. Jesus desires our hearts, and though He had healed the man outwardly, He desired spiritual healing for him even more. I don't believe Jesus is threatening the man or implying that his illness was self-inflicted by sin when He tells him to stop sinning. But instead, Jesus is reminding the man of the wholeness that is found in Christ alone.
This past Sunday, Mike talked about every longing at its core being a longing for life. The man at the pool may have thought he needed to be healed, and then everything would be fine, but Jesus knew that apart from Christ, the man would never fully experience life. How often do we live this same way? Thinking that if we just got this job or just met the right person, things would be so much better. The reality is that even if we get the "thing", we still will not find fulfillment. The man at the pool so desperately wanted to be healed, but even when he was, Jesus knew that, more importantly, he needed redemption. What if we were to stop chasing the "thing" and instead fix our eyes on God? When we invite God in, He does the transforming work in our hearts, and the desires we so desperately feel will only be fulfilled in Him.
Reflection
What do you find yourself chasing, thinking it will lead to life?
Prayer
God, Thank You for making me Yours. Thank You for loving me deeply and pursuing me even when I look elsewhere. I know that apart from You I will never find true healing or the longings I so deeply desire. I pray that You would continue to draw me in and help me to fix my eyes on what it looks like to do life with You Lord. Amen.
Katie Robinson, Children's Ministry Home Coordinator, wrote today's devotional.
