An Important Question - The One Year Women's Friendship Devotional

An Important Question

When Jesus saw [the sick man] and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

John 5:6

As I look at my daily to-do list, I try to distinguish the truly important activities from the merely frantic ones.

To do that, I remind myself of what I call the John 5 Principle. It was the account of the healing at the pool near Jerusalem’s Sheep Gate, sometimes called “the pool of five porches,” that helped me get over my own worried-Martha hostess style. Around this pool gathered numerous people who believed the stirring of the water signaled healing. Into this scene strode Jesus, who went to one man to heal him. That means he walked past all those other people with legitimate needs to go to only one person. Let women like Martha and me loose in a scene like that, and we would feel as if we had failed unless every person had been healed.

When Jesus approached the man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, he asked him an important question: “Would you like to get well?” I find it fascinating the man didn’t answer yes and he didn’t answer no. Instead he said, in effect, “It’s not my fault,” as he replied, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me” (John 5:7).

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus didn’t argue with the paralyzed man? He wins people, not arguments. But in verse 8 he told the man to take action: “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

Yes, sometimes Jesus invites us to sit at his feet and listen to his quiet teachings. Other times he gives us specific instructions for action. As we learn to listen to him, we will know what action or nonaction to take. —SANDRA

Lord, how easy it is for me to blame others for all of my problems. I remember their bad decisions, their harsh words, their disapproving looks. But as I concentrate on all of those things, I become an emotional invalid. So, help me to make the decision to carry my own mat of responsibility. Help me to walk toward the hope-filled future you have for me.

We cannot please God without a faith that helps us to walk with God, an active faith. —MATTHEW HENRY (1662–1714), ENGLISH CLERGYMAN