The invalid clearly didn't recognize Jesus or even expect anything from Him. Pastor Ralph thinks he was a whiner and complainer, ungrateful and graceless. He probably was but I wonder if I would have even gotten up after 38 years of disability just on Jesus' word to me. It is the grace of God alone that gives us the ability to respond to His goodness and love. It has taken me many years to lay aside cynicism and not react with a “glass half empty” mentality. I am being healed by His unfailing faithfulness and wooing. John doesn't tell us what happened to this man ultimately, whether he followed Jesus or not. I can only hope that he did but if he didn't, it was not for lack of Jesus' seeking him out and giving him his heart's desire. God, who knows the beginning and the end, always seeks those who are lost. 1Corinthians 13 says: “4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ” God is not bound by time but He has chosen to interact with us in time. In this regard, I believe God “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” And so He seeks us out to save us from ourselves and from the designs of the evil one.