In Luke 18:35-43, (NIV)
38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
As I say goodbye to good friends and loving relatives, I am struck by the blessing of learning who my friends really were. As I changed courses and started from the ground up, I thought several times about the blind man's relationship with the crowd in this passage. Several people in my life seemed part of the noisy but meaningless crowd. With few hopes for themselves, they cautioned me to mute my dreams. Before them, my words and my aspirations sounded clamorous, foolish.
In the other camp, Jesus told the blind man that his outspoken faith had healed him. Unrealistic dreams, to Him, were not only good but the only method of solving the problem at hand. Several people in my life emerged that (much to my surprise) either flat out encouraged and helped me, or made the commitment to love no matter what they thought about my decisions. It is these people that I have grown to respect enormously. Strikingly, these are all people who have successfully reached goals and dreams themselves.
Especially humorous was that, when the man DID receive his sight, the crowd stopped criticizing him and praised God. The most hilarious group I have seen were those that condemned me with the crowd at first and are now extremely encouraging. Now I know that these people are good reflections of what I seem to be from afar... not much else.
This leaves me with the question. In my relationships with other people, which side will I be on? Will I encourage faith and impossible dreams? Will I join the crowd in beating people down? In other words, am I healed of blindness to hope and potential?
A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
As I say goodbye to good friends and loving relatives, I am struck by the blessing of learning who my friends really were. As I changed courses and started from the ground up, I thought several times about the blind man's relationship with the crowd in this passage. Several people in my life seemed part of the noisy but meaningless crowd. With few hopes for themselves, they cautioned me to mute my dreams. Before them, my words and my aspirations sounded clamorous, foolish.
In the other camp, Jesus told the blind man that his outspoken faith had healed him. Unrealistic dreams, to Him, were not only good but the only method of solving the problem at hand. Several people in my life emerged that (much to my surprise) either flat out encouraged and helped me, or made the commitment to love no matter what they thought about my decisions. It is these people that I have grown to respect enormously. Strikingly, these are all people who have successfully reached goals and dreams themselves.
Especially humorous was that, when the man DID receive his sight, the crowd stopped criticizing him and praised God. The most hilarious group I have seen were those that condemned me with the crowd at first and are now extremely encouraging. Now I know that these people are good reflections of what I seem to be from afar... not much else.
This leaves me with the question. In my relationships with other people, which side will I be on? Will I encourage faith and impossible dreams? Will I join the crowd in beating people down? In other words, am I healed of blindness to hope and potential?
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