"When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6, MSG) Our mind is a feeble entity. It is said and believed that our minds are the center of life's battles, This means that all issues regarding our daily lives are tackled and decided in our minds. Therefore, to be really successful in life, we must master the art of applying our minds to its best and optimal use. We must get it to address the real questions, the real issues, the real things that need to be addressed!.
The man in our text had lived his life beside a pool in Bethsaida. I can't imagine what it felt like for him lying there all his adult life, watching as his body atrophied day after day from disuse, watching as others who came after him got their healing and bade him goodbyes. I can't imagine how many shortlived friends he had made on that pool side. People who would come to get their healing and would become acquainted to him, and leave him and never come back as soon as they got their healing. I can't imagine the number of questions on the mind of this man!
Isn't it shocking though that in spite of all the questions which this man had ruminated over in his mind for thirty eight years, he had never asked himself the most important question that would address his problem. He had never confronted the real question of his life and situation. He had hung around the pool for thirty eight years dancing around the real issue, the real question.
"Do you want to get well?" That was the most important question of his life and situation. Do you want to overcome this secret sin? Do you want to get out of poverty? Do you want to have eternal life? Do you want to be free from satanic oppression? It is troubling that this man could not give a straight answer to the greatest question of his life. This was because he had never asked himself that question; and when Jesus asked him that question - he had no idea what to say.
Until we ask the right questions, we will never get the right answer. What is that you really need from life? Have you subjected your life, your job, your career, your education to the right questions. Or are you still skipping around the main issue, trying to wish away the facts. Friend, until you confront your real questions, you will never get your real answers. "Do you want to get well, for real?". That promotion you are praying for, do you really want it?. Words only, do not attract answers, actions do. Life classify you as "loading..." when all you do is talk, ask, complain; but the moment you start acting on the questions on your mind, answers start to flood your way.
To be continued...