In John 4 we find a story about a father in great pain. His son was ill, so ill the bible describes him as “at the point of death.” For those of you that are parents, you’ll know that when your children are sick you are always by their side. If they need a day off school you’re with them, caring for them and keeping an eye on them. I can only imagine that if they were critically ill, at the point of death, you wouldn’t let them out of your sight. Your desire would be to be with them for every breath. This story amazes me – let’s take a look at the actions of this father.
John 4 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
His son was at the point of death and he left him?! The official left his son’s bedside and travelled for 20 miles (a journey that would have taken about a day) to make his request to Jesus. It was no short journey and it must have felt like an eternity being away from home, not knowing the state of his son’s health. Obviously they didn’t have mobile phones with updates flooding in from family. The official could have sent a servant to make the long trip, but he chose to make the journey himself.
We all have things in our lives that feel at the point of death, despite our best attempts to save them. I believe there comes a time when you have to leave the bedside. A point when you need to relinquish control. He had to walk away from his son, not knowing what would happen while he was gone. He left the bedside knowing that if something happened he would have been powerless to help.
Just because you relinquish control, doesn’t mean you’ve lost faith.
If your statement is “I can’t do it”, it doesn’t mean faith is absent from your heart. It’s actually the start of your faith. Even with all his wealth and power, this official had to accept that it was time to walk away from his bedside and go in search of Jesus. Maybe it’s time for you to walk away and go in search of Jesus.
Beth with her husband is the Lead Pastor of C3 PHILLY and is excited to begin the journey, with their two children Austin & Indie of planting a new church from the grassroots up on the East Coast. Beth is known for her humour and wit, both on and off of the platform, and if she’s not in the gym you can normally find her hunting down the best place to do brunch.