Thirty-eight years is a long time to be unwell. After so long, you might get used to being sick, and develop some strong habits to keep yourself infirm. After all, when you are stuck in a closet of ill health – and every one around you is also used to being unwell – then being sick seems like the thing to do. If you decide to get well, all the other infirm people will complain about it.
This is the way it was for the man described in John 5:1-16. He felt at home in his infirmity, as did all the others who occupied the surrounding porticos.
They were all unwell, and they spent all their time waiting but not seeing that their most serious illness was that they were “at home” in their ill health. They would have felt quite naked had they suddenly found themselves exposed to wellness.
And so Jesus had to this man that here was another alternative: The man’s response tells it all, as he reels off a long remind “Do you really want to get well?” list of excuses:
I don’t have anyone to put me into the water. When the angel comes to stir the water, someone gets there ahead of me.
So you see, all I can do is remain unwell for another year. But I am faithful. I have been waiting for thirty-eight years.
Go ahead! Blame circumstances, blame the angel, blame the other sick people around you for not letting you in first… Do you realize the waters that need to be stirred are inside you?
Just once why don’t you get up and get there first? If you listen carefully at this moment, you may just hear Jesus saying to you in the portico of your heart, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”
This is an excerpt from a book by Norman Shawchuck.