Do You Want to Be Well?

It seems like a silly question, potentially even a frustrating one. 

Who doesn’t want to be well? 

So why would I ask you that question, and much more importantly, why would Jesus ask it?

One of my favorite stories about Jesus is from the fifth chapter of John. He’s in the thick of His ministry, He’s just brought salvation to the Samaritan woman, and He’s healing people left and right. He comes to Jerusalem for a festival and specifically to a pool called Bethesda, where people would come for cleansing or bathing. Here He encounters a man who has been disabled for thirty-eight years. 

You know what Jesus doesn’t ask: How messed up are you?

He doesn’t ask: How did you get this way?

Jesus doesn’t ask: Are you willing to do the work needed to be free?

He just asks this thirty-eight-year-old man, “Do you want to be well?” And then, when the man gives excuses and reasons why he can’t be healed, Jesus heals him on the spot.

So this is what I’m asking you today regarding how body image: Do you want to be well?
I’m not asking if you want to meet cultural beauty standards.

I’m not asking how broken your beliefs are regarding your body.

I’m not asking how you got here or whose fault it was.

I believe all of those things matter, that processing them will be a part of our continued healing, but today I’m just asking:

Do you want to be well? 

Do you want to be free? 

Do you want to love the good body that God gave you? 

Jesus is enough for our healing. Our freedom was His idea. Let’s take the liberty He’s offering. 

Let’s break free.