Sight Versus Vision

Psalm 38 is a prayer.

It is the prayer of one who suffers.

It is a prayer of one who is in desperate need.

After pouring out his heart, the Psalmist cries out.

Psalm 38:22 (GNT) - Help me now, O Lord my savior!

Mark 10 tells us of another man in need of healing.

The man’s name is Bartimaeus, and his malady is blindness.

Bartimaeus is sitting and begging by the road as Jesus passes.

When Bartimaeus learns of this, he cries out.

Like the Psalmist, he cries out for Jesus to have mercy on him.

Others, perhaps out of embarrassment, tell him to keep silent.

But Bartimaeus cries out even more.

Jesus hears and responds.

Mark 10:48-49 (GNT) - Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

After being told that Jesus had summoned him, Bartimaeus runs to Him.

Jesus asks what it is that Bartimaeus wants of Him.

Mark 10:50-51 (GNT) “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. “Teacher,” the blind man answered, “I want to see again.” “Go,” Jesus told him, “your faith has made you well.” At once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road.

What a remarkable exchange.

The moment Bartimaeus learns that Jesus is passing, he cries out for mercy.

Despite being told to keep silent, he cries out even louder.

The moment he understands that Jesus has summoned him, he runs.

How astonished the crowd must have been to see a blind man run.

Although Jesus is all knowing, He questions: “What do you want me to do for you?”

The response of Bartimaeus is: “I want to see again.”

In his persistence, Bartimaeus is healed.

Had he heeded the commands of the crowd he would have remained blind.

Although Bartimaeus lacked sight, it was the crowd that lacked vision.

What about us?

What about our vision?

Will we boldly ask the Lord for the healing of our bodies and our spirits?

Once healed, will we go our own way, or will we follow Jesus too?

Will we carry the Good News into a world that sees but lacks vision?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 28, 2022.

I will be back here on Friday, November 4, 2022

Both Creation and Child

After the Lord appointed Cyrus as king, the prophet Isaiah delivers the Lord’s word.

In addition, Isaiah affirms the Lord’s role in creation and history,

His words apply to the new king, but they also apply to us.

Isaiah compares the Creator to a potter and the created as a pot made of clay.

Isaiah 45:9-10 (GNT) - Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker, a pot that is like all the others? Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing? Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?

Some seven centuries later, Christ taught His disciples how they should pray.

After warning them not to pray the way hypocrites pray, Christ instructed them further.

Matthew 6:9-10 (GNT) - This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored; may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Just as the pot must not question the potter, a Christian must recognize God’s sovereign will.

The will of God certainly reigns in heaven.

That same will must also reign here on Earth.

Those who fully appreciate this have a special relationship with their creator.

They recognize that they, like Adam, are created from dust.

Yet they are still able to approach their creator and call Him Father.

Galatians 4:6 (GNT) - To show that you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, “Father, my Father.”

Yet there are those who want their will to prevail.

They are the pot that questions the potter.

This is not a good place to be.

I am reminded of the words of C.S. Lewis who wrote: “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.”

It is Christ who helps us keep our relationship with the Father in its proper perspective.

Yes, God is the potter, and we are the pot.

But God is much more.

Thanks to the Spirit of His Son, even the created can lovingly call Him Father.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 14, 2022.

I will be back here on Friday, October 21, 2022