Holistic Hope
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?”
Present Hope
John 5:1-9 records a story of a man who had been sick for 38 years and cannot walk. He has been lying by a pool known to be a place of healing, but he has yet to experience the miracle he longs for.
Jesus is back in Jerusalem, to observe the latest Jewish festival. As he moves through the city, he passes this pool. I imagine it is a place of great hope, but also deep disappointment. Imagine watching as others experience healing over and over again – but you aren’t that lucky one.
But Jesus doesn’t just pass the pool; he stops and speaks to this man. Jesus comes to this man in the midst of his circumstances. Beautiful or messy, with the hurting and in the hard places, Jesus is present. Then he asks the man a question. “Do you want to be well?”
I find it an intriguing question. Jesus could have asked if he wanted to walk. That question would have been appropriate. But Jesus was concerned with this man’s holistic healing and wellbeing.
The man answers with, what I wonder is, a request, “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the water…”. Maybe he was hoping that if this man, Jesus, would stay, he would help him enter the pool first so that he could be healed. The man didn’t yet know who he was talking to, someone with the power to transform his life.
Kingdom Hope
During his time on earth, Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of heaven – it often caused conflict with the religious leaders. What these concepts point to is God’s rule and reign and in Jesus we get a picture of what that will look like – restoration -restored bodies, restored hearts, and restored relationships.
Later in these verses, the man encounters Jesus again who tells him, “See you are well now. But stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
Jesus healed him physically, but was also concerned with his heart, his spiritual condition. He wanted this man to experience a restored relationship with God, healing from his brokenness, and an ability to walk in freedom. Jesus beautifully demonstrates the care, dignity, and hope he offers to people.
Hope in a Hard Place
The villages of Manonkoh in Sierra Leone are hard places. Home to over 4,500 people they lack access to clean water, have high rates of maternal and infant mortality, high rates of illiteracy, malnutrition, child trafficking, discrimination of people living with disabilities, and difficulty in accessing the Gospel.
Launched this year, Project Manonkoh is an invitation to partner with this rural community for 3-5 years. Churches and individuals will empower community-led, holistic, sustainable development, transforming the villages of Manonkoh.
By drilling a well so the community has access to clean water, training a water management committee, establishing sanitation solutions, training in hygiene practices, strengthening education, improving health access, empowering children living with disabilities and their families, implementing protection initiatives to prevent human trafficking, and supporting the Wesleyan Church of Sierra Leone, holistic transformation will take place in the Way of Jesus!
At World Hope we are committed to holistic healing and igniting hope in hard places. This means coming alongside communities, empowering and equipping them to lead the change that they want to see happen.
How might God be inviting you to be hope in hard places?
Together, we can work towards sustainable solutions that break the cycles of poverty and injustice, uplift communities, and build resilience in the way of Jesus! Give towards that kind of transformation.