Do you really want this????

"Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6) One would think it an odd question for Jesus to ask someone who has spent the whole of their life to this point laying paralyzed and totally dependent on the charity of others. But it is a valid question nonetheless. Maybe this individual didn't really want the healing of Jesus. Maybe they were quite comfortable being a victim. It happens all the time. Every day it seems you meet individuals who are perpetual victims. They know their life could be better, but they can't be bothered to make the changes the necessary so they moan and complain about how bad or sad their life is. Or even easier is that for the most part we all dig ourselves into certain ruts in life. Routines or habits that annoy us about ourselves, but we decide it is too hard to change and so we resign ourselves to staying where we are and the way we are.

Jesus brings change. Jesus calls for change. Jesus is change. If Jesus is in your life then it cannot remain the same and neither can you without denying the reality of God's power and God's grace and God's Spirit at work in you and in your life. Hence the question...Do you want to get well??? Do you really want to change???

Jesus is reminding us that we can't blame other people, circumstances, luck, fate or anything else for what is happening in our life or, more importantly, for our attitudes. We are the ones who decide how much or how little we make use of the both the opportunities and the resources that God has put at our disposal.

And yes...change costs. It takes discipline and commitment and hard work...hmmmm...those all sound like characteristics of being a disciple of Jesus, too.