Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

In the gospel today we hear of a man who was ill for thirty-eight years.

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?”  (John 5:6)

It's a funny question. “Do you want to be healed?”

Our first impulse would be to think,“Of course he does!  Who would want to be sick for over thirty years?” Yet, it is a legitimate question. If he is healed – his whole life would change. He would be called to new behavior and certainly more would be expected of him. After thirty years there is no doubt he is probably comfortable with his illness because it has become familiar. Sometimes not so good familiar seems easier to accept than the risk of all new that you know nothing about.

At first the man seems to give Jesus excuses for not being healed. "Sir," replied the sick man, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me." You can sense the frustration from his years of seeking help, yet you wonder why didn't he just ask someone for help into the pool. Jesus does not give him a chance to make excuses or to refuse healing, but instead says to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." 

I have met people over the years of doing post abortive work, who although they were not asked those specific words, have said “no” to healing.  Sometimes, it is just too hard to acquire new behaviors or to change a lifestyle. Sometimes, the familiar is preferred to having to change into unchartered territory.

After his healing, Jesus tells the man “"Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you."

As we think of  healing from abortion perhaps it would be good to ask ourselves these questions:

• Do you truly want to be healed?
• Are you willing to do the work?
• Are you ready to give up behaviors that have ultimately hurt you?
• Are you seeking the help you need in your journey?
• Do you refuse the forgiveness of God?
• Are you ready to charter new territory with your new life?

It may be scary to change, but Jesus promises to be with us always.

Have you been resistant to healing? If so, pray today that you open your heart and truly desire healing, knowing that He will never abandon you in your journey to Him.