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- Apr 25, 2006
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Hurt by Christians (2)
‘…Do you want to get well?’
John 5:6
Getting hurt in life is inevitable; staying hurt is a choice. You can decide to remain a victim by dwelling on how things should have been, or use the experience to grow stronger and wiser.
At the Pool of Bethesda Jesus met a man who’d been lying paralysed on a mat for thirty-eight years. When Jesus discovered how long he’d been there, He asked, ‘Do you want to get well?’ After thirty-eight years, the chances are this man saw his handicap as part of his identity. He’d been incapacitated for so long that he thought like a victim: ‘…I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool…’ (John 5:7 TM). Translation: ‘Nobody cares.’ But Jesus did, and He commanded him to get up and walk.
Now, it took faith for this man to overcome those old ingrained feelings of hopelessness and self-pity, but when he obeyed Jesus he was healed on the spot. God never forces healing on you, even when you’re hurting. You must want to get well, and make a conscious decision that by God’s grace you can. Let’s face it, the church is made up of flawed human beings who sometimes speak without thinking and hurt others. But that’s no reason for leaving the church! ‘…You’re part of the body of Christ…’ (Colossians 3:15 CEV). Apart from it you've no function, no food supply, and no fulfilment, so you begin to die spiritually. The truth is, it takes the same energy to choose healing as it does to choose helplessness—but the results are very different. One leaves you paralysed by events, the other gives you hope for the future. Which one will you choose?
written by Bob Gass
‘…Do you want to get well?’
John 5:6
Getting hurt in life is inevitable; staying hurt is a choice. You can decide to remain a victim by dwelling on how things should have been, or use the experience to grow stronger and wiser.
At the Pool of Bethesda Jesus met a man who’d been lying paralysed on a mat for thirty-eight years. When Jesus discovered how long he’d been there, He asked, ‘Do you want to get well?’ After thirty-eight years, the chances are this man saw his handicap as part of his identity. He’d been incapacitated for so long that he thought like a victim: ‘…I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool…’ (John 5:7 TM). Translation: ‘Nobody cares.’ But Jesus did, and He commanded him to get up and walk.
Now, it took faith for this man to overcome those old ingrained feelings of hopelessness and self-pity, but when he obeyed Jesus he was healed on the spot. God never forces healing on you, even when you’re hurting. You must want to get well, and make a conscious decision that by God’s grace you can. Let’s face it, the church is made up of flawed human beings who sometimes speak without thinking and hurt others. But that’s no reason for leaving the church! ‘…You’re part of the body of Christ…’ (Colossians 3:15 CEV). Apart from it you've no function, no food supply, and no fulfilment, so you begin to die spiritually. The truth is, it takes the same energy to choose healing as it does to choose helplessness—but the results are very different. One leaves you paralysed by events, the other gives you hope for the future. Which one will you choose?
written by Bob Gass
