I begin this writing with a disclaimer. It is longer than most I have written. It also contains some personal confessional truth I share from my spiritual journey that I hope will be helpful as you move along your way. Try as I may I could not find a brief way to properly share some of what I thought was important truth. D.T. Niles once described evangelism as, “One beggar showing another where he found bread.” I share the following in that same spirit.
Jesus encountered many in His brief time on earth to improve their life here and for all eternity. He is still doing so today. However, not everyone who encountered Jesus then or now had or has their life improved or changed. That fact always astonishes me. Why would one not take every opportunity to have things better, especially forever? Perhaps an encounter with Jesus from the 4th chapter of John gives insight. Jesus came to an invalid at the pool of Bethesda. He had been in this condition for some time. The pool was a common place for blind, lame & paralyzed people to gather. There was a common suspicion that magical healing powers were in the waters which was fed by an underground stream. From time to time air pockets would form in the feeding current and the pool would bubble. The belief had formed that an angel was stirring the water with a healing touch and the first one in the water during this supernatural ‘therapeutic’ moment would be healed. So there would be people waiting for the bubbles and a desperate scurrying to be healed. There are some so desperate to be healed that they will try anything. These are the poor souls that are often most vulnerable to scams and con artists. But that is another article.
The pool was also a gathering place for many who did not believe in the superstition but knew many charitable people would come there to give to the sick. This was long before government welfare so this was a common practice. Some had no intention of seeking to be better. They had given up on improving their situation. They just came to receive aid as they remained in their situation. This prompted the question of Jesus. “Do you want to be well?” While it is not God’s purpose to heal all physical sickness, as Jesus did not do so then nor does He do so today, God does seek to give us a changed abundant life (see John 10:10). “Do you want to be well?” is the tipping point question still today.
Even God, with all of his life-changing power, does not force change or improvement on those who seek to remain in their current situation. The invalid in John’s Gospel explained to Jesus that he did indeed wish to be well & was desperate to do all he knew & was doing all he was able to do in his limited physical (and current spiritual and intellectual understanding) would allow. Jesus then changed his life. As a preacher of that life-changing gospel who has traveled and ministered to individuals and churches on five of the seven continents over the past 30 years I have often wondered why so many are intent on staying in their ‘crippled’ condition.
I have come to the following conclusions: There are some people who are simply content in their current situation. I am reminded of a story of a new county agent that drove to an old rural farm in his newly assigned district in his new Government Issue truck with the label on the door. There was an old farmer dressed in his bib overalls, one button undone, hoeing preparing to plant his crop in the old fashioned way he had done for years. The new agent, with his new government issue uniform and all the enthusiasm he could muster, went to the old farmer who never paused in his hoeing. He introduced himself and said, “I am here to help show you how you can farm better than you have ever farmed before.” The old farmer still continued to hoe as he had done in the past and said, “I already know how to farm better than I have farmed before.” Some people are never going to change, even if it is for the better. Change takes work. Depending on the depth of change it may require physical work, emotional work or the work of faith. Some change requires all three. Some have such an ego that they do not wish to admit that they need change or improvement. To admit a need for change means admitting there is something wrong with the current condition and they have developed an ego that will not allow that assessment. Others are in such a state of denial for several reasons that they do not see that they need change so they choose to remain ignorant or superficial. Some stay in their state of sameness, illness or refusal of change that necessitates growth because they enjoy the attention they receive from illness wrongly portraying that attention as love.
There are other reasons but those who are not interested in growth have probably not read this far so I will not address them. What I do want to address is change. In his book entitled Deep Change Todd Hunter writes, "We live in a tumultuous time. Change is everywhere, and we are surrounded by circumstances that seem to demand more than we can deliver. We are all regularly lured into playing the role of the powerless victim or the passive observer. In such roles, we become detached, and our sense of meaning decays. We look at everything in a superficial way. We see little potential and have little reverence. To choose to play either of theses roles is to choose meaninglessness or the slow death of the self. We has always been embedded in a dilemma. We have always had to agonize over the choice between making deep change or accepting slow death.” The term ‘slow death’ jumped out at me as I moved my elderly father into my home to become his caretaker. It is sad to watch this man whom I once looked upon as my role model slowly waste away but the more tragic episode in his final chapter of life is the glaring evidence of the reality of his choosing a ‘slow death’ years ago as he chose to let life pass by. He simply chose to stop challenging himself in his ways of thinking and forming a growing world view. It is sad to see this in my father but he is not alone.
There is a spiritual sadness in those who do the same. I know pastors and church members who seem to have a preference to cling to ego, tradition and old mind sets rather than go through the work and often fearful challenge that is involved with what is necessary to really be well or have real change. They are often just going through the motions. We all find it hard at times. We know what is to feel tired and feel like there is more demanded than we can deliver and we become weary and want to stop growing. But, I believe those who truly seek to be spiritually whole/well have a conscience that will not allow them to stop growing. We also have seen the ‘slow death’ in others and do not want to go there.
This type of growth is not cosmetic or superficial. Hunter writes, "...differing from incremental change in that it requires new ways of thinking and behaving. It is change that is major in scope, discontinuous with the past and generally irreversible. Effort at deep change distorts existing patterns of action and involves taking risks. Deep change means surrendering [But] most of us build our identity around our knowledge and competence in employing certain known techniques or abilities. Making a deep change involves abandoning both and “walking naked in the land of uncertainty..."However, we must realize that this is the true adventure of faith. Jesus tells us in John 3:8, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." This is the adventure of those who are born again and trust Jesus as he says, “Do you want to be well?” Trust Him, choose life, read, study, learn grow, test everything and hold on to the good (I Thessalonians 5:21) and let go of old ways that are slow death that are holding you back from following Him more completely. It is a glorious journey!
