Daily Lesson for March 4, 2015

Today's daily lesson comes from John chapter 5 verses 5 through 8:

5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”

Yesterday, a man came by the church asking to speak to somebody about God. The pastors were all in meetings, but but was threatening to harm himself; our front-office secretary called for help.  When I came out he was obviously imbalanced, inebriated, manic, beating on the desk, and had a large pocket knife protruding from his pants.

To make a long story short, by the time the ordeal was all over about three hours later we ended up with a crisis intervention specialist, two police officers, and not one but two EMS trucks on site. Everyone acted responsibly and with compassion. A situation which could have escalated was deescalated with a lot of patience and willingness to let the man talk. He was on a binger and had been in and out of the hospital for the last several days in between using. When the police arrived, he backed off on the self-harm talk; and all agreed he had probably said he was going to hurt himself as an act of manipulation. He was obviously an experienced manipulator; he is also a child of God. 

We let him tell us his story.  He's 39 with a long, hard history of drug abuse and all the pain that comes with it.  He said he's been in and out of rehab, sometimes with long periods of staying clean.  We prayed together with the police praying with heads bowed but eyes wide open.  They were innocent as doves and shrewd as snakes and extraordinarily helpful.

At the end of the ordeal the man got into the second EMS truck and it began to drive slowly through our parking lot. "Is he going for treatment?" one of the other pastors asked.  "He says he is," I said, as the truck stopped, the back doors opened, and he stepped out.  He wasn't ready.

To the invalid who had been stuck beside the pool for 38 hears Jesus asked, "Do you want to be made well?"  It was not a condemning question. It was not a judgmental question. In fact, I believe it was asked with love and with compassion. But was a necessary question; for there was no way for the man to be made well unless he wanted it. And finally, after 38 years, the man said, "Yes, yes, I wan to be made well."

As the man walked off yesterday, some folks from the Alanon group were walking into our church, and a man from our congregation with his own story stood at the door.  We all watched the man walk away.  Then someone spoke, "With God, there's no such thing as a hopeless drunk or a hopeless addict; but you gotta be ready."

After 39 years, the man wasn't ready yesterday. But maybe he will be today. I pray so; but it's got to be his decision.