PICK UP YOUR MAT

"Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked." John 5:8-9

Recently when a friend and I were talking about where we are headed in life, he reassured me that everything would be perfectly fine as long as I remain obedient to God once I get to where I need to be. I agreed with him 100 percent - but it had me thinking - do I always remain loyal even after I get what I was asking for/seeking? Shortly after the inspiring convo, God showed me the perfect relatable story in the Bible - and that story can be found in John 5 verses 1-15. I had to break it down and share it with you all. So let's break it down, shall we? 

"Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”" John 5:1-6 

[ Invalid may refer to: Patient, a sick person. one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (seen by some as a politically incorrect term) .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real use. ] - Source from Wikipedia 

Isn't it interesting that Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well? Jesus is still that same gentleman to this day. I don't see why anyone would say no to Jesus's invitation to get well - but you'd be surprised - people turn down his invitations to this day. Let's look at the man's response. 

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “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.” - John 5:7

He responded by telling Jesus his problem. Not saying that he was wrong - but do you do that when you pray? Do you just tell God all the things that are going wrong in your life instead of thanking him and hearing what he has to say? Jesus didn't ask him what he struggles with. He asked him if he wanted to get well. Sometimes a simple "Yes Lord." will suffice. But maybe he didn't know who Jesus was - maybe this was his opportunity to learn. I actually do believe it was his opportunity to learn (as well as everyone else that came in contact with him) because the response immediately after that was a command. 

"Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked." John 5:8-9

I always find amazement in how certain people in the Bible didn't hesitate when Jesus made a demand of them. Like when you look at how the disciples were found, a lot of them just came when Jesus said come. That's going to be another blog post though. This man, however, realized that he was cured and he picked up his mat and walked. The "mat" to me symbolizes the past. Maybe Jesus told him to take his mat with him so that the people that ran into him would see that this is the same guy that would lay on that same mat by the pool like "wait wasn't he paralyzed or sick or something?"... Sometimes God will make you take the very thing from your past that people thought "made you" to show others how you don't need it in your future. Did that make sense? I think so, but let's continue. 

"The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” - John 5:9-10

So here goes the haters. Well not really haters, but people that live by the law. In today's world, it's like the people who question what you're doing when you decide you're going to do something new. I like this guy's answer:

"But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there." John 5:11-13

Ok so three things here: 

1. The once invalid man held his ground and kept walking! That's important. When God tells you to go, you go. You keep going! Don't let people stop you or talk you out of it! You tell them Jesus told me to go! He was cured and happy. 

2. The guy didn't know who it was. Have you ever been blessed and didn't know where it came from? I'll tell you where: GOD! 

3. Jesus slipped away. I wonder why. There are many times in the Bible where Jesus slipped away after a miracle or a wise saying... Sometimes it's because it wasn't his time yet to be prosecuted, sometimes it was because it wasn't his time to be king yet, sometimes it was to pray...but here it doesn't say why. Regardless - watch what happens next - and here comes my main point. 

"Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well." - John 5:14-15 

So first, look where Jesus found him - at the TEMPLE. He got healed and went to the TEMPLE. Who knows what he was going to do once there - but that's where he ended up. 

Second, Jesus reminded him that he was well AGAIN - meaning he was well before. 

Then, Jesus told him to STOP SINNING OR SOMETHING WORSE MAY HAPPEN TO YOU - which implies that he had been sinning in some sort of way...or maybe Jesus knew he was going to start sinning now that he was healed. He told him to stop though - or something WORSE may happen to him. What could be worse that being confined to a mat? If I was him I wouldn't try to find out. This just goes to show how sinning can mess up your entire life. Like it can literally kill you. 

Finally, it says the man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well. So now he knows who Jesus is AND he went back and told those same people that questioned him earlier that it was JESUS that healed him. That's a testimony. 

Here's my point: We get to where we are in life based off of decisions that we make and God's plan for our lives. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are ALWAYS there to help us and guide us in the way that we should go. When we sin, we end up in a situation that is very uncomfortable for us. We feel far from God. We struggle in life. We get sick. God will keep us in this uncomfortable situation until we realize that we need Him to make it through. Once we realize this - God is faithful to heal/deliver us from our problems/past. Just say "Yes Lord". Let Him in. Let God be God.  However, at that point it is up to US to stop sinning and REMEMBER Who delivered/healed us. If we forget, something even worse than before may happen to us. Jesus will remind you too, haha. 

When God tells you to get up and go - GET UP, PICK UP YOUR MAT (symbolically or literally) AND GO! 

[Click here to read all of John 5!]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, if you haven't already made the decision to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, I suggest that you make that decision today! 

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9

After that -- join a good faith based Bible based church -- get baptized -- read The Word everyday! Pray everyday! Trust me, I did it. It's still and will forever be the best decision that I have ever made in life!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the faith. 

Let's figure it out together with God. livingoutvisions@gmail.com