Would You Be Well?

 A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to serve as facilitator for a panel of pastors, rabbis and ministry leaders as they discussed the impact of faith on today's culture here in our city and how their ministry/organization was positioned to help be a part of this impact.

One of the panelists, a former restaurant manager who now runs a restaurant style feeding ministry here in the area, made a profound comment. He said, "At some point, we have to teach people to move past crisis mode so that they can be self-sufficient."

I thought about Jesus and the lame man at the pool of Bethsaida in John 5. I love the King James Version of this text as Jesus asks the man in verse 6, "Wouldst thou be made whole?" Songwriter Kirk Franklin states it simply, "Do You Want to Be Happy?" What a powerful question as we sit and grapple with all of the tragedy and hurts that plague us as a society!

Note the lame man's response to Jesus. He doesn't give him a straight answer, but rather launches into a list of excuses as to why he has not received his healing. The cure was less than 100 feet away, and yet for 38 years, he lay lame on its edge waiting for someone else to carry him to it.

It is easy to blame others for our failures and poor choices, but we can only attain wholeness when we take ownership of our destiny and recognize that we were created for more.

We are worth more than minimum wage jobs and government assistance to fill in the gaps of our existence. We are worth more than public housing projects or even Section 8 vouchers that place limits on where we can live and raise our families.

We are worth more than abusive relationships fraught with mental, verbal and even physical violations of the sanctity of our personhood. We are more to God than a one night stand or a temporary high that leaves us exhausted, empty and abandoned.

Our lives matter not because of the color of our skin, not even because of the content of our character. We matter because Christ died that we may live a life of abundance. A life of exceedingly abundantly above. A life of more than enough. A life of wholeness.

Wholeness is a beautiful concept--it indicates a state of completion with no lack; a sense of perfection--not necessarily the absence of flaws, but rather a maturity in knowing who we are and what we are purposed for in life.

You were made for more....

Wholeness is a state that took me over thirty years to reach. For me, it came when I was able to look into the mirror of my own soul and realize that what I was seeking--who I was seeking--was already inside of me. The God of the Universe who created the cosmos and then shaped it from chaos to a curated masterpiece resided on the inside of me. And that same God created me for more than what I was settling for in my life. Would I be made well? Would I allow God to make me whole?

The first step in becoming whole is wanting wholeness. Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to be healed?"

As we work with others who may find themselves in an unfortunate situation or circumstance in life, we are called to help them in their immediate crisis, but then we must coach them to a place of wholeness. That requires relationship. That is a place that for many of us is uncomfortable because it requires hard conversations and tough decisions. And it requires us to walk with them as they take their own journey towards wholeness serving as their cheerleader, critic and confidant along the way. Sometimes, it even requires us to walk away realizing that we cannot want for them that which they don't want for themselves.

It may be a family member or loved one who comes knocking on our door like clockwork every payday asking for a "loan". Or, it may be the relative who refuses to take ownership of their health, but seeks us out to serve as their ambulance and emergency room as we nurse them back from the brink of their own self-destructive habits again and again. Still it may be the friend that calls just as we enter that dreamy stage of sleep to cry about their latest relationship catastrophe that we warned them about at its onset.

Jesus did not pick the lame man up and carry him to the pool. He spoke to the man and awakened something deep within that made him believe that he could be whole. Jesus told him to "Rise up, take your mat, and sin no more..." It's time for us to speak to the recesses of our souls and command it to rise up--from whatever situation life has presented to us, from whatever frustrations, disappointments and delusions that we have allowed ourselves to wallow in. God says, "Rise up". Then we must take up our mat--own our issue and deal with it; really own it and deal with its reality and requirements. And finally, we must sin no more. Whatever led to us being in that situation the first time around, we must take the necessary steps so that we don't find ourselves back laying on the edges of our healing, waiting for someone else to carry us where we were made to walk.

Until the Divas talk again, may you be well, may your soul be whole, and may your style be graced by God's smile.

Sincerely,

Pastor J-
The Divine Diva