Today’s Scripture: John 5:14
Not long after this man was healed, Jesus found him in the temple, and He warned him to stop sinning or something worse would happen. Scripture is not clear what the man’s sin was. Maybe it was unbelief in Jesus’ divine power to heal. Perhaps it was lack of faith in God or lack of confidence in himself that he could live an independent life. Maybe the man just wanted to be an invalid so he wouldn’t have to accept responsibility for his own independence. Or, possibly he had been involved in some sort of sinful behavior that led to his paralysis. Again, we don’t know what we don’t know.
This is what we DO know: (1) Jesus knew how and when to end the relationship with the man; and (2) He made the man accountable to himself. Jesus didn’t offer, “Hey, if you ever fall back into your old ways, call me. I’ll be right over.” He instructed him to embrace his healing and walk a clean path—or else.
Sometimes there’s a fine line between compassion and enabling. With the Lord’s help, we will be able to discern when we are showing true compassion and when we may have crossed the line into an enabling relationship. Following Jesus’ model is the best path to take.
- What relationship are you in right now that may have crossed the line into enabling? What do you need to do to restore health?
- How will your relationship with the Lord be different following this week’s quest?
Please share your thoughts or insights about this week’s study.