“Do you want to get well?”
The guy’s stuck, sitting by the road, paralyzed for 38 years. Of course he wants to get well! Why would Jesus asked a disabled man what seems like a silly question?
Not so fast…Jesus doesn’t ask silly questions.
As a counselor, I was taught that most people don’t really want to get well. They just want to feel better.
Getting well is transformational. It means digging beneath surface symptoms and doing the difficult work of addressing underlying causes. Mostly we’d rather avoid that kind of messy, time-consuming work. We’d rather take a pill or slap on a band-aid and get back to normal, whatever that means.
I believe Jesus saw into the man’s soul and knew he was ready for something beyond physical healing. We can’t know the details, but apparently he wanted more than simply to get better.
Makes me wonder…when you and I seek some sort of healing, do we want to get well? Or, are we asking for a way to feel better without facing the difficult truths of what needs to change? Are we looking for a shortcut around the hard work of real transformation?
Jesus doesn’t do shortcuts. So if that’s what I seek, I’ll likely feel disappointed.
Do you want to get well?