Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Healing through His touch
John 5. 12-16

‘Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.’

This passage tells us about an invalid person, probably paralyzed, unable to get up and walk. He was lying by the side of the pool for 38 years, waiting to get in to the pool first when the water is stirred. The belief is that when the water is stirred in the pool, whoever gets in to the water first will be healed of his sickness.  The people who were near to the pool lost all their hope in life and may be begging by the side of the pool other times when the pool is not stirred. There is no description in this passage how the pool is stirred, but it is believed that whoever gets in to the pool first when stirred will be healed. This particular invalid person was not able to get in to the pool, because he was not able to get up and get in to the pool before others get into the pool, when it is stirred.
Jesus never knew this person before, but when he passed by this person, he asked him ‘do you want to get well?’ Again, the answer is very strange, he replied: ‘Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’ Probably the sick person was thinking that, Jesus is going to help him to get in to the pool before anyone gets in when the pool is stirred. This is probably most of our attitude and belief also. We do expect things to happen in our way, but Jesus has better plans for us, but we have to wait for his time to come for his action to be revealed in our lives. When enters in our life, we change to a new person, but we try to live our own life as in the past.
We found that the healed person was not returned to his house or to his friends, but he went inside the temple to worship.  This is strange because, normally a person when he gets healed, he will definitely go to his house and friends and show them that he is healed. Here we see a different person, who went straight to the temple to worship God for being healed. But when Jesus met him at the temple, he asked him not to sin again and warned that if you sin again, something worse will happen to you. The invalid person by the side of the pool is an example we need to follow in our lives. The experience of new life is to praise the God and reveal his glory in our life and actions.
Prayer: ‘Lord, thank you for coming into our lives at times of tragedy and sickness and giving us a new life so that we may glorify you before others. Forgive us for transgressions in the past for not living a life worthy to you. ‘Amen.
Thought for the day: Sin results in sickness of body and mind and healing challenges us to move into a new life experience.

Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas


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