Taking it to the Mat
By Tina Pinson
When Jesus saw him, and knew how long he’d been ill, He asked
him, “Would you like to get well?” John 5:6 (TLB)
My father was in the Air Force. Once we lived in Izmir,
Turkey. An awesome culture-shock. We were able to travel to the
7 Churches written of in Revelations. Izmir is modern day
Smyrna.
One day a man sat outside the Chapel gate on a little flatbed
cart covered with a mat. He’d lost a leg and the remaining leg was
swollen and a strange grayish color. He came every Sunday, held
out his hand and gathered money. But his leg grew worse. The
church talked to him about Christ and tried to help with
medicines. But he turned down the offer to have his leg taken care
of. Why? He’d lose his livelihood.
He didn’t accept the gift, his leg got worse, and he died.
The man at the Bethesdan pool laid there each day for 38 yrs.
We don’t know his ailment, but he couldn’t get to the stirred water
fast enough. No one helped carry him, and he’d been pushed aside
and stepped over, but he came every day expecting a miracle. And
Jesus comes to the pool and tells him, “Stand up, take up your
mat and walk.” And the man laid there and... No, he accepted the
miracle and got up. After 38 years, wouldn’t you?
The religious leaders were upset. They saw the man at the
pool. They could’ve carried him to the water. How sad would it
have been if the man who hoped for a miracle, didn’t accept the
gift from the Lord, because he didn’t want to leave his situation.
Or the religious leaders guilted him because Jesus healed him on
the Sabbath. But they hadn’t carried there when it wasn’t the
Sabbath for 38 years.
All these people met Jesus. They had a mat to carry away.
Even the beggar at the chapel gate was given opportunity because
Christ touched the church and they touched him. He didn’t take
the gift because it changed his finances. The religious leaders
didn’t take his gift because they didn’t like Christ’s method or
Him. And they didn’t know Him. They didn’t like Him healing
people. No matter what He did, they would have complained.
But the other man took up his mat, took the gift, and walked
away in the freedom Christ offered him.
Questions:
The mats we lie one aren’t always for physical reasons, e.g.,
wrestling/prayer mat (spiritual/mental warfare/prayer), welcome
mat, (grace/mercy), bed mat, (rest/wait on Lord) bath mat,
(cleansing) and even a laundry mat (confession/salvation) What
have you been praying for? Is there a mat you need to pick up and
carry away? Or lay down?
Scripture doesn’t tell us if the man at the pool ever despaired, or
his age, just that he had an ailment for 38 years and went to the
pool to be healed. Though he was stepped over for years, he
hoped, one day, he would make it to the water, and then he came
face to face with Jesus. Have you ever come face to face with
Jesus? How did your life change? Why does the Lord make us
wait sometimes?
Considering the religious leaders of the day, how often do you
think they saw the man at the pool? Why do you think they didn’t
carry him to stirred waters of the pool during the 38 years?
Matthew 9: 1-8, tells us about a paralytic whose friends lowered
him through the roof on his mat, so he could be healed. Have you
ever been asked to help someone, (to carry their mat)? Ask the
Lord for insight about opportunities to be his hands?
Food for thought. John 5: 1-17
No comments:
Post a Comment