Stefan

If you know me at all then you know that there is a song that runs through my mind for nearly every occasion.  This morning is no exception!  As we consider verses 4-7 of John 5, the song pictured is the one that popped into my head.  "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" also has been going through my head but for today, let's use Squire Parson's melody "He Came To Me" to plant the seed of our hopeless and helpless state without Christ coming to us. 

Speaking of our verses, let's review them now.

For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

This man--and since we are going to be speaking of him so often, don't you think we should give him a name?  No, I'm not trying to rewrite the Bible but it's just a bit easier to call him Fred or Larry instead of the Impotent Man.  Hmn.  I know!  We could refer to him as Stefan.  Stefan.  Sounds exotic, don't you think, and also keeps him on track with reminding me of how very much he and I are alike. 

So, Stefan is literally on the ground.  Has been there for 38 years.  His only hope (or so he thinks) of getting better is to have a man--someone...anyone--put him into the healing waters of the Bethesda Pool.  Unfortunately, like poor ol' Ricky Bobby believed from the tales he heard growing up, if you aren't first, you're last.  If you aren't first, then too bad, so sad.  If you aren't first, then...Well, you stay in this condition until the next season when the angel comes to stir the waters again.

I wonder how hard he tried?  I wonder how much effort Stefan put into getting himself ready for that season when the angel would come.  Season.  Hmn.  Makes me ponder:  was it a specific time each year, such as when winter, spring, summer, and fall occur?  Was there advance notice that the angel would arrive on such and such date or...Or did one just have to chance it, to be ready in and out of season?  Did Stefan just lie there and hope to get a jump on the competition, counting on some "miracle" to help him out, or did he prepare for the spontaneity  of the angel's arrival?

"I have no man."  

Sounds to me like Stefan counted on the kindness of strangers to get him out of his bind and into the bountiful.  Sounds like he had no friends, for his words of  having "no man" lead me to believe there wasn't anyone close to him to help him out.  After 38 years of being in the same condition, in the same area surrounded by other hapless folks, and after countless times of frustration did he not share his angst with anyone?!

Maybe he did at first.  Maybe he commiserated with the others who had their own infirmities.  Maybe when he tried to tell someone what had led to him being in this condition, maybe they listened the first few times but then wanted to be heard more than they wanted to hear of another's woes.  Perhaps they themselves had been there longer than Stefan and tended to feel that they had it worse than he did.  Maybe Stefan was a whiner who only wanted attention but didn't really want their advice on how to position himself closer to the pool.  I mean really, this spot over here was so much more comfortable and had a prettier view.  He could watch the newbies arrive and keep an eye out for the latest happenings.   Besides, why bother getting close to anyone?  They only expected things from you and wanted to change you, to better you to suit their needs.  Right?  No one really cares about me, Stefan must have thought, otherwise surely I would be healed by now.

Have other people let you down, friends?  Have you ever had a problem or condition that required extra attention that at first these "friends" were glad to provide but soon tired of the time and energy it took into taking care of your needs when their own were so much more personal?  You became bothersome, an annoyance, and soon, you became an afterthought.  An "Oh yeah, whatever happened to Stefan" sort of soul.  When it came out that you were still poor and needy, they quickly wrote you off.  Again.  Out of sight; out of mind.  For years.  Decades.  More than half of your life.

Sigh.

Oh my sweet ones, how I feel your ache and empathize with your plight!  That feeling that no one--NO ONE--cares.  That realization that you are once and for all totally helpless, friendless, and hopeless is one I have been in and if truth be told, often still feel like I am in.  When the chips are down and I am in the pit with them, where is my "man," my buddy, my life-long friend who said she'd always be there for me yet when I call out to her, I get voice mail or unanswered texts?  Where is my "man" who said "for better or for worse" and went and found  the better and left me behind?  Where is my "man" who brought me into this world and then discarded me to suit his own selfish desires?  And what about those church folks who claim to be so much like Jesus?  Where are they when I need a hand out--I mean a hand up?  

He came to me.  Jesus came to me.  Just as He came to Stefan, He came to me and brought me out and through the gulf that separated me from Him.  Did it take Him 38 years to do so?  Did He not notice how badly I needed some help?  Did He not see me lying in my state for all of these years?  I mean, the Israelites wandered for 40 years.  The woman with the issue of blood suffered for 12 years, and the woman with a disabled spirit was bent over for 18 years.  He finally healed them but...what took Him so long?  Why did Jesus not heal immediately?

I don't know.  I don't know why folks are born with diseases and disabilities or why some are afflicted later in life with handicaps.  I don't know why so many hurt and if the condition is a result of sin or if it was created so that Jesus might be glorified, as in the story of the blind man from birth who was granted his sight.  What I do know is that Jesus came to me.  More than once.  Sometimes He came but I didn't acknowledge His presence.  I was happier (or so I told myself) being miserable rather than trusting once again in someone who might let me down as so many before had.  

Okay, I know this has been a longer blog than you probably had hoped for.  So, I'll close for now.  There is still so much more to say though that I hope you will come back next time to see what incredibleness lies in our Saviour that He would take His time to come to us.  And if for some reason you don't know Jesus as Lord, I invite you to send me a note so I can tell you more about that and how to have Him lead your life.  

Let's pray!

Dear Lord, first off, thanks for coming to me.  I don't know if You didn't come sooner because I was still so Stef-involved and hard-headed and coldhearted that there wasn't room.  I don't know if perhaps You were there all along and I just refused to look up because the view from the bottom was so great (ahem).  I don't know when You came to me and I finally realized that without You there was just no chance at all for healing, for wholeness.  But You came.  You came to me.  Me!  

Thank You.  

You were there all along, weren't You, God?  Thank You for lifting my eyes, my soul, and my spirit.  Help us all today to remember that even when we don't feel You or see You, You are there.  You are here.  You came to us and You aren't going to leave us alone.  What wondrous love!  I accept You and love You in return, Father.  Amen.