Consider the man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, all the time lying near the pool of Bethesda. Jesus comes along, sees him, and asks, “Do you want to get well?” Instead of an enthusiastic “Yes!” the man responds by bemoaning his situation and recounting his weaknesses. He has set his sights on the only way out that he knows (jump into the pool), and sees only his own inability to achieve any success. He has become comfortable in his sloppy solution and no longer considers other options … even when the true Healer shows up. But Jesus instructs him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” The only real solution is to trust Jesus, to listen to him and leave the place of self-imposed disability.
It’s amazing how we can become so comfortable in our mediocre, maybe even pitiful, existence that even when a better way or system presents itself we ignore or overlook it. We develop a limited perspective on life and what completeness really means. We can convince ourselves we’re okay and things are going great. But that limited perspective prevents us from seeing the wonderful riches of the blessings Christ has to offer. If only we would trust him and embrace his perspective.
In our spiritual journey and in the life that is affected by it, we often get into a rut. Jesus comes along to lead us out of the rut. Yet we tend to somehow focus on the rut and prefer to settle down there. We cling on to the shoddy substitutes for wholeness that the world or our own self-centered hearts have made. We convince ourselves to stay in the rut by arguing that at least it’s more familiar, safe, and comfortable there. But, then, it doesn’t get us anywhere in God’s kingdom either. So Jesus continues to call us out of our self-inflicted mediocrity. Get up and walk!
—Keith Y. Jainga