Blindness

I was reflecting this evening on two of my favorite miracles. One is Bartimaeus. Here he was, a blind man, sitting by the side of the road begging, and he hears that Jesus is nearby. So? He starts yelling, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" There's so much faith in that simple cry for help. "Son of David"--I know you are the King. "Have mercy"--I know I don't deserve your help. But I also know that you are by your very nature a merciful King. And then the crowd tries to get him to shut up. In essence saying, "What makes you think He'll want to help you?" Ever have someone try to tell you--subtly--"Quit bothering God. He has better things to do than help you"? What did Bart do? You know, yelled louder! And, of course, Jesus had him brought before Him. And I love what Jesus said, "What can I do for you?" My response would have been, "Duh, I'm blind. What do you think I want?" Bart just in faith responds, "Lord, I want to see." Ever have a need so obvious that you know that God has to see that need? And you sit around wondering--and complaining in your heart--questioning why He hasn't met your need? You have to ask. "Ask and it shall be given to you. Knock and it shall be open. Seek and you will find." It's called believing faith. "And without faith it is impossible to please God." My asking says, "I believe that you can and that you will meet my every need. Jesus' response to the asking, "Your faith has made you whole." God doesn't mind yelling, God doesn't mind persistence, God doesn't mind your asking. In fact, He delights in it! And Bartimaeus followed Jesus--with eyes that could see where He was going and "sight" that knew who He was--without a doubt. For sure. "He's Jesus, Son of David, who had mercy on me!"
I've also been reflecting on the blind man that got the "here's mud in your eyes" treatment. And then he got in the day long debate with the Pharisees. They kept trying to get him to denounce Jesus--who by the way he had never seen. And even though his own parents wouldn't back him up, he didn't back down to the Pharisees. "This I know, once I was blind, but now I can see. And whether you believe it or not--that's a God thing." Since they couldn't refute his testimony, they kicked him out of the synagogue--condemning him, they arrogantly believed to an eternity without God. So what happened? God sought him out. Jesus came and found him. And asked him if he would believe in the Son of Man, the Messiah. He said in essence, "Who is He?" And Jesus responded, "It's Me." And he readily believed and worshiped. If he hadn't ever seen Jesus, how did he know it was Him, you ask? He knew His voice. May God give us the courage to stand up to those who mock our Savior. "I know He's God. See, once I was blind, but now I can see. The Light of the world is Jesus. Come to the Light, He's calling for you."