Life Better Than We Ever Thought Possible

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Gospel of John 

July 11, 2024

Life Better Than We Ever Thought Possible

Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!

John 5:8-9a

The Pools of Bethesda are quite large and deep. The local legend was that the waters had healing properties and when an angel would stir the water and the water bubbled up, the first person in the water would be healed. (Verse 4 provided this information, but the verse is not in the most ancient copies of John, so it has been deleted in most modern translations.) Jesus’ question to the crippled man frames the issue: is he satisfied living life as a beggar, or does he want a better life? Jesus was neither putting down the man’s poverty or his physical condition. I believe his concern was for the man’s willingness to accept his condition as the way things were and would be for the rest of his life.

My Takeaway: Can we put ourselves in this man’s position? Are there parts of our life that do not reveal the life of Christ within us? Have we accepted this as the norm? Today, let’s compare where we are with the words of Jesus: “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10b The Message). Now, join me in sitting quietly before the Lord and ask him: what can we do, or what can we stop doing that will bring us closer to a life that is better than we ever thought was possible?

Sē’lah

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.