In the Gospel of John, chapter 5, Jesus approaches a man who has been lying near the pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years. Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” At first glance, the question seems unnecessary. Of course he wants healing. Or perhaps not.

Healing is not only about relief.  It is about transformation. It requires letting go of familiar patterns, even when those patterns are painful. It asks us to release identities we have grown accustomed to, even when those identities are shaped by brokenness of body or spirit.

 To be healed is to risk hope!

There are times when people become so accustomed to the weight they carry that they no longer imagine life without it. They stop seeing themselves as whole. They stop believing that change is possible. ‍ ‍Their burden becomes a way of life.  Do we risk being healed?             

Do we risk the chance that God wants us healed or do we feel safe just in the state we are in?  In this we must exam ourselves. 
 Sometimes, the healing of grace takes place within us naturally; we go through a rehab program; we find a caring Physician who found just the proper way to treat our problem; a faithful friend who nurtures; a new job we find fulfilling.  Many times, the healing comes slowly.
                                       Grace comes but in God’s timing.

These aren’t man’s doings alone. God has chosen this way for us.  God’s grace works today just it always has from the beginning of time.

 Grace works in multiple dimensions of our lives. It lifts the burden of guilt by reminding us that we are forgiven. It heals the wound of shame by affirming that we are loved. It strengthens us to change by assuring us that we are capable. And it fills us with gratitude, awakening a sense that we are, indeed, blessed.‍ ‍

‍‍As disciples, we  recognize the image of God in the face of the afflicted, to speak words that restore, and to speak words of encouragement and reaffirm how much each life is important.  You and I are to be vessels of God’s grace. 

To rise to the occasion.
To become “healers.”       
To live as whole people who know God!
                                That’s  Graceful  Living

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