THE THOUGHT TODAY

14/11 / 09
“Take Up Thy Bed
Matthew 23: 1-12

The Gospels and the Bible are littered with stories which are often well known and familiar to
many people. It takes a little illumination, sometimes, to bring us again to their deeper meaning and
enduring value for our lives today. One such story is told in Matthew about a man at the Pool of
Silaom.

It was traditional that once each year, there would be a stirring of the waters. Anyone who got in
first would be healed of whatever ailment one had. Can you imagine the rush and bedlam at that
time as people jostled and pushed and even fought to get the opportunity for healing and
restoration? Imagine the disappointment of those who were not able to get in on time to experience
their moment of restoration.

The gospel story tells us of a crippled man at the pool of Silaom. What chances did he have? The
case of this man is made more poignant when the story tells us that he had tried for thirty eight
years for his moment of healing. To the ordinary person maybe two or three years of waiting for
something that was difficult, if not impossible, may have been too many. This man was an
extraordinary man of faith. He maintained his dream and wish for thirty eight years. When Jesus
met him that day and heard his story of faith he was moved with compassion. He offered him the
word “take up thy bed and walk”. An ordinary person may have said, “which bed? I have been
here, crippled for 38 years and you are telling me to not only take up my bed but walk? You crazy!”
Our Man Today did not question. He obeyed the command and by his obedience began his healing
and wholeness.

Sometimes, it takes 38 years and more to come to a point of healing and renewal of life and limb, to
move from a posture of helplessness to one of active faith. For our Man Today , this act of faith
and obedience changed his life and became a source of inspiration for other people of his day and
through the ages. Some experiences of faith are so compelling that they are retold from generation
to generation.

Do you know anyone , even yourself, who has been stuck in a moment in time, or an event in your
past that has so traumatised you and rendered you helpless to move on with life's possibilities? Is
there a need for reconciliation with friend, neighbour, child, or some significant other that has
paralysed you for a long time and which has taken your joy away? Do you too need to hear the
Lord's gentle invitation to take up your bed and to walk again to fulfil your life's possibilities?

Today

Ashley R Cain
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