Misplaced Eagerness

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. (John 5:14-15)

I hear that still, quiet voice saying some things right now to me through this passage.

“Look, you have been made well! Don't allow anything to separate your heart from me again because there are serious and very dangerous consequences that result from such choices.”

Because of my revised understanding about the true definition of sin I now can see this much more clearly. I am learning that sin is not so much the external harmful behaviors or the breaking of rules and regulations that we most often associate with that word, but sin is the choice to look to anyone or anything else to be our source of life and the authority that we choose to obey other than the One who created us for Himself. All of those other things are just symptoms of a state of mind, outworkings of an attitude of independence, of trying to live for myself instead of in close, dependent relationship with my loving heavenly Father.

Sometimes I find myself concerned that somehow it is inevitable that I may fall into some overwhelming temptation that I may encounter someday and then I will experience terrible pains of anguish and regret. But then I am reminded that such fatalistic thinking is really a temptation itself that is being pressed into my mind from supernatural evil forces and that God is bigger than anything that sets itself against His authority in my heart. That is not to say that I am immune from such an event in my life; I am very vulnerable to falling into sin more than I realize. But living in fear of such things more than abiding in God's love and responding to the attractiveness of God's true character is a very unstable way of living the Christian life.

Clearly Jesus is warning this man that there really are inevitable consequences in our lives when we choose to indulge in sin, especially in the light of clearly knowing better and choosing it anyway. There is a place for holy fear, a fear that trembles at the thought of what life will be like without the life-giving presence of Jesus always close to us. But fear has been way overrated as a legitimate motivation to keep people close to God. It may be a good kick-off point to get people moving in the right direction toward wanting to know God better, but if it is used as the primary long-term motive for coming closer to God it becomes more and more unreliable as the fearsome attacks of the enemy threaten to overpower our fears about offending God.

All of counterfeit Christianity, indeed all false religions are filled with teachings based on fear that are simply distortions or even outright lies about the truth of how God relates to His children. These fears and terrors are some of the greatest obstacles that prevent many people from responding to the loving grace of our Redeemer and Savior. Fear may serve to warn us away from plunging further into a life of independence from God, but it is helpless to effectively draw us very close to the heart of the One who is passionately in love with us and wants to cultivate intimate ties of friendship and unbreakable bonds of love between us. No healthy marriage can ever be held together primarily through fear and the same is even more true with our relationship with our heavenly Father.

But as I said, there still is a useful but temporary place for fear in the life, especially near the beginning of our walk with God. Because of our immaturity and our penchant to operate from selfishness instead of surrender to God's Spirit, we are in constant danger of losing sight of the amazing love that has already done so much to deliver us from the pain and complications of sin. Jesus wanted this man to keep this in mind and to not forget the years of pain and misery that had resulted from some very wrong choices earlier in his life. But He was not trying to tell the man that this fear should be the full context of all of his relationship to God for the rest of his life.

God is seeking a close relationship with each one of us that transcends the narrow bounds of fear. Unless we are willing to move well beyond the initial motivations of fear and allow our hearts to warm to the glow of His presence we will never be able to experience the kind of joy and intimacy that He desires to have with us.

What I find intriguing and even a little sad is this man's possibly immature reaction to Jesus' introduction of Himself to him in the temple. Instead of responding by seeking to attach himself much more firmly to Jesus and letting go of his feelings of obligation to the skeptical questioning of the Jewish leaders, he instead immediately leaves the presence of the One who had just done such wonderful and miraculous things in his life and runs away from His presence in an attempt to placate the demands of those who have no genuine interest in him or care at all about his heart.

This man could have ignored the deceptive questions of Jesus' enemies and instead could have responded in gratitude by staying in Jesus' presence and learning more about God's ways of viewing reality. But he was still so entrenched in the mindset of those around him that he missed an incredible opportunity to bond closely with his healer and instead initiated even more problems for the One who just had so graciously healed him.

In a way this man actually started to do exactly what Jesus had just told him not to do. In rushing away from the presence of Jesus because of his compulsion to satisfy the demands of religious authorities he was actually indulging in sin; for sin is really the act of removing ourself from God's life-giving presence and submitting our lives to an inferior authority in His place. That is really allowing other gods to come in place of the presence of the only true God in our heart and except for God's amazing grace such choices will only bring even worse consequences.

While it may appear to us that running to “the Jews” and telling them who healed us may to us seem like “witnessing”, when seen from heaven's perspective it may be something very different. Jesus did not intimate that this man needed to do any such thing. In fact as can be seen immediately following this action, this “witnessing” by this healed man did not result in greater admiration for Jesus by the Jews but produced just the opposite effect, possibly much to the dismay of this man who had not bothered to run his idea by Jesus first.

How often do I do the same thing in my attempts to further the work of God on earth. How often do I run around thinking that I am promoting the kingdom of heaven while failing to stay close to the presence of Jesus and listening to that quiet, inner voice of His Spirit before plunging into some witnessing escapade that is not doing God any good in the long run.

It would have been a much better choice for all involved if this man had turned his attention to staying close to Jesus and seeking to know what Jesus had in mind for him rather than the choice that he did make. I want to learn from his mistake and remember to stay close to Jesus myself and to check with Him all the time before I go charging off to do things I think will enhance His reputation from my perspective. I am reminded of the verse that I have placed as the header on my contact sheet for my new business venture to remind me of this very thing.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him (really know Him intimately), and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)