"A Man and His Bed"

Acts 9.33-34 NASU

“Aeneas… had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.’ Immediately he got up.”

Aeneas was “bed-ridden” for eight years. He was very acquainted with and dependent upon his bed. It was his home for almost a decade. Aeneas’ bed was his crutch. Sleep was his drug of choice. Bed was a magical place of retreat and isolation from the harsh reality of his crippled condition. Bed eventually became indistinguishable from the disease that kept him there. Aeneas fully identified with his bed. He was “paralyzed” and incapable of enjoying the sights and sounds of his home town, Lydda. Instead, bed became his only real friend offering the comfort and solace he needed to make life bearable. Bed, for Aeneas, was an escape into fantasy and unhealthy friendship. Driven to isolation, he hid from his misery in the comforting embrace of bed, his best friend... 

“When you’re down and troubled

 And you need some loving care

 And nothing, nothing is going right

 Close your eyes and think of me

 And soon I will be there

 To brighten up even your darkest night.”[1]

Peter crashed through the pitiful relationship between a man and his bed. He made the killing of that unnatural affinity a condition of healing…

“Get up and make your bed.”

You have been raised to new life in Christ and, like Aeneas, your life has a purpose…
 

“Get up and make your bed.”

Say good-bye to your old friend. You no longer need a “bed” (an unhealthy dependency, an emotional pacifier, a cherished drug, an addictive behavior, a comfort zone). “Make your bed” and do not return while there is still light in the day. Close the bedroom door behind you. End your dependency. Receive power from the Holy Spirit. “Get up... make your bed,” and go on with your life.
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[1] You've Got a Friend, Carole King, Tapestry album, 1971.

The picture of a man's feet poking out from under the bed covers is called "My own bed. 365 Days, day 176" and used by permission of photographer Mark Radford at http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterrad/