So Jesus answered . . ." Mark 10:50
The single parent agonizes in frustration with the child who has a drug addiction or eating disorder. The wife whose "Christian" husband struggles with surfing porn sites can't figure out how she can recover her marriage. The alcoholic who recognizes that his chronic struggle is crushing his family can't make the demanding meetings. The self-centered wife; the angry husband; the pouty teen, and on. Is it a trend? Is it an epidemic? Pastors and church counselors are busy these days, because these are churched people, and for some reason they can't seem to get a grip on living a life of victory in Jesus Christ!
These secular strongholds, which should be expected in the world of non-believers, have become a cloak of heaviness upon the shoulders of many in the church body. What is a pastor/counselor to say to the regular attender who is crippled by fear, oppression, addiction, pressure and stress?
Blind Bartimaeus (at the end of Mark 10) desperately needed help. I'd say he was ready to be done with his burden of blindness, trapping him into a life of roadside panhandling. Might his blindness have been a result of sin? A disease he may have brought upon himself? Quite possibly, because his plea to Jesus as He walked by was, "Have mercy on me." Also, those in the crowd who knew Bartimaeus told him to keep quiet, as if he had no business asking for mercy from the Man they believed could do just that.
When they told him to keep quiet, Bartimaeus yelled even louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!," acknowledging Jesus' line of royalty and believing in His power to grant mercy. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and creator of all things, "stood still" and called the man to Himself. How many in this crowd did Jesus pass without healing? I know he often said to people, "Do you want to be made well?", refering to the condition of their hearts rather than their physical condition.
Jesus is that personal. He hears your reqeusts. And I wonder if it's not the request for healing that stops Him in His tracks, but more Jesus' recognition of a sincere desire to change one's heart. Many of us are burdened by something that keeps us roadside; and though we keep it private, we wear that cloak about us to remind ourselves of its grip upon our lives. A label. A category. A statistic.
I want to believe when blind Bartimaeus "threw aside his garment . . . and came to Jesus", he was tossing aside the identity of a beggar. He was leaving behind the cloak of darkness. He was coming to Jesus. I want to believe Bartimaeus knew at that moment that he was a follower of Christ--eyesight or not. (Jesus, of course, iced the cake when he asked Bartimaeus what he wanted Jesus to do for him). When Jesus said to him, "Go your way" and healed him, Bartimaeus' "way" was to follow Jesus. I want to believe Bartimaeus' "way" was to follow Jesus when he decided to remove the garment that branded him, to himself and others, a misfit-- unworthy of mercy.
Maybe your problems seem debilitating--even making you "blind" to how to make them better. As much as you try to keep it confined to yourself, or within the walls of your home, you are always aware of that garment that labels you as a misfit--unworthy of mercy. Like the roadside crowd, the experts will keep you quiet from calling out to Christ . . . Oh, your problem can be tended to, treated, worked on. And maybe with more meetings, more books, more accountability, you can remain as you are, hoping for relief.
But could there be a point in your dreadful life when you sincerely listen for Jesus of Nazareth and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me"? You can't just hope He stumbles by your spot on the road. Your diligently seeking Him must be sincere (Hebrews 11:6); not for your mental or physical healing, but simply because you desire to come to Him and know Him. The eyesight comes after we surrender, you'll see. Call out to Jesus in humility. He "stands still" waiting for us to throw aside our garment and come to Him.
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