“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ 7 ‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’ 8 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” (John 5:1-9, NIV)
The man in this story was referred to as an invalid; a sick man.
He had spent so many years, day in and day out, sitting on his mat, that his condition had become part of his identity.
The ironic thing about this, is that the mat was actually referred to in the NLT as a “sleeping mat”.
” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath,“
The mat was never meant to be his permanent location, it was only meant to hold him temporarily. But, somehow along the way, it became his final destination.
I wonder how many of us are stuck on a mat that was never meant to be our permanent destination.
The mat was never designed to carry the weight that the man was putting on it, year in and year out. It was supposed to hold him while he slept. Instead, it was holding so much of the weight of his identity, that it became a part of who he was.
I wonder how many of us God is telling to pick up our mat, but we are putting so much weight of our identity on it that we aren’t able to move.
And because of that, we are literally stuck in the same place, unable to move forward.
Let’s dig a little deeper. The mistake you made 5 years ago, that you have asked forgiveness for time and time again- the mistake that God no longer remembers because it has been washed in the blood of Jesus. Yeah, that one- that you can’t seem to forgive yourself for. Instead of picking up your mat and carrying that mistake as a beautiful testimony of God’s grace— It has become your identity, and it is carrying you.
That mistake may be a part of your story, but it is not who you are. Its meant to be carried, not to carry you! It’s time for you to pick. it. up.
Because as long as your weight is on it, you will never be able to move. You will be stuck on your mat, and never walk in all that God has for you, because you are placing your weight on something that was meant to be carried.
All of us have mats. But the mat is simply a part of your testimony. Your identity should always be rooted in who you are in Christ. Your mat is simply carried– your identity holds the weight of who you are.
But if you thought you were in the clear…..
We ALL have things things that are fighting for our identity– things that we should be carrying, but sometimes and in some seasons, have a tendency to carry us.
Your career, your role as a spouse, your role as a parent, your athletic ability — you name it. These were never meant to hold the weight of your identity either- they’re meant to be carried as well. They are a part of who you are but they cannot hold the weight of your identity.
The only thing that is strong enough to hold the weight of your identity is your identity as a follower of Jesus. Everything else will crumble under the weight, taking you with it, or leaving you stuck and unable to move. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. His Word is truth. His calling is irrevocable. His grace is sufficient. He and he alone is where our hope, our worth, our grace, and our identity should be found.
The rest is meant to be carried.
Reflection: What are some things in my life that I am putting the weight of my identity on? How would it look different in my life if I were carrying that thing instead of putting my weight on it?
Application: To truly know your identity in Christ, you must know the Word of God. His word reveals his heart and who you are in Him. How will you commit to learn more of your true identity?
I love this!!! AMEN!! Thank you !!