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?” John 5:6
“Jesus, who in this Vision informed me of all that is needful to me, answered by this word and said: It behoved that there should be sin; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
In this naked word sin, our Lord brought to my mind, generally, all that is not good, and the shameful despite and the utter noughting that He bare for us in this life, and His dying; and all the pains and passions of all His creatures, ghostly and bodily; (for we be all partly noughted, and we shall be noughted following our Master, Jesus, till we be full purged, that is to say, till we be fully noughted of our deadly flesh and of all our inward affections which are not very good;).
And the beholding of this, with all pains that ever were or ever shall be,—and with all these I understand the Passion of Christ for most pain, and overpassing. All this was shewed in a touch and quickly passed over into comfort: for our good Lord would not that the soul were affeared of this terrible sight.
But I saw not sin: for I believe it hath no manner of substance nor no part of being, nor could it be known but by the pain it is cause of. And thus pain, it is something, as to my sight, for a time; for it purgeth, and maketh us to know ourselves and to ask mercy. For the Passion of our Lord is comfort to us against all this, and so is His blessed will.
And for the tender love that our good Lord hath to all that shall be saved, He comforteth readily and sweetly, signifying thus: It is sooth that sin is cause of all this pain; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner [of] thing shall be well.
These words were said full tenderly, showing no manner of blame to me nor to any that shall be saved. Then were it a great unkindness to blame or wonder on God for my sin, since He blameth not me for sin.”
Julian of Norwich (c. 1342-c. 1416) in Revelations of Divine Love (Grand Rapids: CCEL, 1966), p. 31.
This post links to the flow of the post from yesterday. Click below to read the post from yesterday first in case you missed it.
Why will all be well for us? Of course, because of what Christ has done for us. He did the needful rather than blame us for our sin. Think about the profound generosity in that.
We are all like the lame man, unable to do anything. Jesus approaches us. He asks, “Do you want to get well?”
Next time someone blames God for the presence of evil. Alert them that sin was needful to show us our need for God. People are responsible for sin. God did not blame us but made a way of salvation for us.
This is the generosity of God: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner [of] thing shall be well.”