Something Worse Might Happen

In John 5, Jesus sees the paralyzed man by the pool who has been hanging around for 38 years waiting to be healed. This was one of my favorite examples used in a sermon by Pastor because of how he pointed out Jesus' question "Do you want to get well?" Anyway, after Jesus heals the paralytic, the Jews around Him weren't happy because He healed on the Sabbath. Later, Jesus found the healed man in temple, and (in the Message version) He said "You look wonderful! You're well! Don't return to a sinning life or something worse might happen."

Jesus has healed us. He has spoken and told us to take up our mat and walk. He has made us new, but He has made us new so that we would not return to our old ways. I believe Jesus has redeemed me and made me new. I also believe He speaks to me all the time, telling me that I shouldn't return to my old ways of sinning. We can't just use Jesus as a lifeline without trying to fix our ways. We can't just keep sinning and expect Him to save us and renew us the same every time. He's not there so that we can go on without trying to live a life serving Him. He has saved us, and that is more than we deserved in the first place. So now it's our responsibility to work hard to serve Him. We can't return to a life of sinning.