Forward Motion

You know, one of the coolest things about Jesus is that he never had to say much to get his point across. Sure, if he wanted to he could speak for a great time at length (i.e. Sermon on the Mount), but the fact of the matter is that he didn't need to if he didn't want to. More often than not, Jesus solved problems, answered questions, and confounded the most learned scholar with just a single phrase. 

His words carry so much weight, that today, thousands of years after he walked this Earth, people still read them and find comfort, become challenged or convicted, and see truth for (sometimes) the first time. 

I recently read something that I had to have gone over many a time before, yet never realized the weight of the words. John 5:8, a simple verse, but it contains so much if you think on it. The verse goes like this:

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."

The phase was spoken to a lame man who lay at the healing pool, waiting for his chance to become whole. Few of us find ourselves in such a situation, but the words spoken still bear truth for us to hear. For me, this message is simply one of moving forward.

Rise- Let's be honest, sometimes we get stuck. Stuck laying down and waiting for something to happen. Stuck sitting and hoping that some outside force will come along and help us move forward by getting rid of the problem for us. The fact of the matter is this: we already have all that we need, we just have to get up first.
God promised to never leave nor forsake us, and He has plans beyond our wildest dreams in store, all we have to do is go with it. To achieve anything, one has to realize that you can't just take life lying down, you have to rise up, you have to take a stand, you have to make the move yourself. You have to take some initiative.
God wants to help you, He wants to see you prosper, but He can't make the choice for you. What He can do, when you are stuck and feeling beaten by circumstance, is what He has already done. He told you where to start. He told you, "Rise."

Take up your bed- This part struck me the most out of anything. Stop for a second and think about what that means. Not just the words themselves, but what it really means to follow this command. The bed that the man laid on holds more meaning than just being a mat. He was infirm for the past thirty-eight years of his life. His bed had become more than just a spot to lay his head, it had become the thing that defined him, that spoke about his condition, that showed others exactly where he was in life.
So why take such a thing with him? Why carry something that would do nothing but remind him of those past thirty-eight years?
He takes up his bed because it is a reminder. There is a quote, sadly cited to an unknown source, that goes "You can't know where you're going, unless you know where you've been." The man's bed is his past, it is where he has been. Part of moving forward in life is not ignoring what has happened in the past, but finding instead who you are in spite of the past you carry with you.
For those of us that follow Jesus, we discover more and more who we are as we do His will, as we live out our lives constantly seeking him. You may still have to carry your past with you, but when Jesus steps into your life things change completely. That bed you laid on is no longer what defines you, it is simply the catalyst for where your story really, truly began.

And Walk- And move forward. And live your life. And don't forget who it was that helped you get up, for the first time in so long. Actually taking those first steps will be hard, and may even feel somewhat unfamiliar, but they are essential. If you stay standing in the same place, you will eventually lay down once again, returning to you bed. You have to walk to move forward.
The hardest part is that sometimes, we simply don't know where to begin. We were in the same spot so long, that everything else seems strange now. But the fact is, you already have begun. You stood up. As far as moving forward from there goes; start by listening. The same one that told you to rise in the first place will not, has not, abandoned you. He is there, ready to help you along the way, all you have to do is ask, and listen for His reply.

The picture is almost complete, but not quite. Look back a couple verses at 5:6. The first question that Jesus asks the man is extremely important, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"
Jesus will work with you, He will heal you and give you the chance for a life that, otherwise, you would never have known. But you have to want it. You have to accept it. You have to let Him do the work that He so badly wants to do for you.

Once all is said and done, you are no longer that person, sick and laying on a bed, waiting for a miracle. You are no longer given your identity by your infirmity. You are the one that Jesus stopped and spoke to, the one that He cared for, the one that He healed.

And, look at that, you're moving forward, one, somewhat shaky, step at a time.