That's not how God works
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Jesus Heals on the Sabbath - John 5:1-15
The pool at Beth-zatha carried a story - a mythology. When the waters stirred, the first one in would be healed.
It sounds strange to us. Almost like a spiritual competition. But if we’re honest, don’t we sometimes imagine God working that way?
If I try harder.
If I’m good enough.
If I pray the right way.
If I move fast enough.
The man at the pool believed healing required speed, access, assistance. He didn’t lack desire. He lacked opportunity.
And then Jesus arrives. He doesn’t organize a line. He doesn’t explain a set of rules.
He doesn’t even assist him toward the water.
He simply steps in and initiates the miracle. This is a radical disruption of the performance model of faith. Grace is not awarded to the fastest or the most deserving. It is given.
How often do we live as though life with God is a contest? As though only some will make it? As though healing must be earned?
That’s not how God works.
God works by stepping into places we cannot fix and offering what we could not create.
Jesus, free me from the myth of spiritual competition. Teach me to receive your grace without striving. Amen.
This piece is offered by Sterling United Methodist Church and was written in collaboration between Rev. Bert Cloud and Sharon Rosenfeld. It is inspired by the book Seven Miracles: Signs of Life in the Gospel of John by Gina Anderson-Cloud, Megan Dietrick, Bill Gray, Daniel Park, Isaiah Park & Lauren Todd