17. Freed From Bondage

My Heart's Desire
Maynard Force
Chapter 17

Freed from Bondage
Arise, take up thy bed and walk. John 5. 8.

These words of Jesus were spoken to a man who had been bedridden for thirty-eight years. Would it not have been enough had Jesus said, "Arise, and walk''? Why should this man be told to take his bed with him?

The sick man was to take up his bed and walk because he was never to live in this place of defeat again. He had struggled there for thirty-eight years to better his condition, but had failed. Neither was there anyone in this place who seemed to care enough to help him. His companions were classified as "sick blind, halt, and withered.'' The sick are too often self-centered people who think only of themselves and their ailments. The blind are those who have no vision, but sit in darkness all the time. The halt are those who limp around, but get no place. The withered are those who were once robust and strong, but are now dried up. In this depressing place, he had been kept a prisoner for these many years. Now that he had met Jesus, he, as well as his surroundings, was to be different. The past was to be forever gone. He was to be completely free, "For if the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed'' (John 8.36).

He was to take his bed with him so he would not be tempted to return to that place of misery again. There were "sick" people in that place from whom he might contract other diseases so that "the last state of the man'' would become "worse than the first" (Luke 11. 26). No doubt his bed was his sole possession, and Christ wanted not only him, but his meager belongings as well, liberated from this place of bondage. Too many people who have been set free by Christ never take their belongings with them into that freedom. Their possessions then become the bait that entices them back into bondage again. Moses realized this danger, and therefore told Pharaoh, "Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind'' (Exodus 10.16). He knew that if even a calf were left, some man would be tempted to sneak back and get it. Once a soul is set free there is to be no going back into the place of bondage. This truth was demonstrated when God chose to lead Israel out of Egypt by way of the Red Sea. Once they were safely on the other side He closed the passage, never to open it again, for there was to be no back-tracking. Christ stands ready to liberate not only us, but also all our possessions. "Stand fast, therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage'' (Galatians 5.1). Be sure your belongings also are set free, that they do not become your ''yoke of bondage.''

The man was to take his bed, for now he had power to do so. Until now his bed had carried him, but now that he had met Christ he was to carry his bed. This bed, which was a symbol of his possessions, had held him fast for many years. Christ had reversed the situation. Now that he was a free man, he was to be master of his bed. Christ did a similar thing for Zacchaeus, the rich man. Zacchaeus had become a slave to his wealth, and lived only for himself. When Jesus. saved him be became master of his wealth and immediately began to make right use of it. Listen to him as he exercises his freedom for the first time, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor'' (Luke 19.8). Once he worked for his money. Now his money worked for him. Arise, take your possessions, and be master of them!

He was to take up his bed for it was to be placed in new surroundings. Both he and his surroundings were to be different. The anxiety of the past was to be forever over. Now he was to rest in a new place where he could lie down in peace. He had been set free that he might fellowship with free people.He was not only to meet free people, but to make his abode with them. From this day on, he would be numbered with the free. He would be free to forget "the things which are behind'' and to stretch for- ward into the things which are before" (Phil. 3.13). He was now free to start life over again. He had become a new man. "Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new" (2 Cor.5.17).

When you see a person moving out his bed, you know that he is really leaving his former place of abode. Those who take only a suitcase or two will eventually return. Jesus wants us to break all our connection with our former defeated lives. He wants us and our possessions to be free. Therefore he gives the command, "Arise, take up your bed and walk."