“One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, Jesus asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.’” (John 5:5-7 NIV)
The fact that the invalid is called invalid is no insignificant detail. It’d be like me introducing myself as asthmatic. I realize it’s a grammatical mechanism used throughout Scripture with a wide variety of nameless people -- the prostitute with the alabaster jar, the man born blind, and the woman caught in adultery, to name a few. They are synonymous with their sin, with their sickness. But there is a lesson to be learned: don’t let what’s wrong with you define you. That’s not who you are. When my children lie to me, I don’t call them liars. I remind them that that’s not who they are. I certainly call it what it is -- a lie. But I don’t let what they’ve done wrong define their identity or destiny.
Our culture has a tendency to reduce people to labels. Not only is that unhealthy and unholy, it’s also dehumanizing. Don’t let anyone label you besides the One who made you. Take your cues from Scripture.
You are more than a conqueror. (See Romans 8:37)
You are the apple of God’s eye. (See
Zechariah 2:8)
You are sought after. (See Isaiah
62:12)
You are a joint heir with Christ. (See Romans 8:17)
You are a child of God. (See John 1:12)
-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible”
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