Theme: What marvels the Lord works for us
Text: Jer. 31:7-9; Heb. 7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52
Every human being, no matter how talented, is also limited in a particular way. Some people learn how to deal with their limitations and make the maximum use of their talents while others fail to use of their talents giving their limitations as an excuse for their failures. We can all rise to the potential God has placed within us if we would not allow our limitations to distract us. It is very often more convenient for us instead of dealing with our limitations to rather compare ourselves to those we believe are not as good as we are. When Jesus told Peter about the limitations he would face in his old age when someone would have to lead him by the hand and make him go where he did not want to go, instead of Peter asking the Lord how he could adjust to and deal with that situation, he rather wanted to know how it would be with John. It is as if we are not really concerned about dealing with our own limitations as long as those close to us are also experiencing those limitations. Limitations, setbacks and problems are a real fact in life and today’s gospel reading is about the limitations placed on a man due to blindness. Blindness in Bible times was far worse that it is today. It reduced a person to begging since there was neither help nor work for such a person. Even today, especially in developing countries, the blind are really limited or as others would say handicapped and are not even considered when various projects are being planned. There are no facilities for them in homes and offices neither are there facilities for them in the area of transportation. In our nation even providing white canes for them is a problem and those who possess them cannot cope with the many potholes on our streets and pavements. How can they cope when even those with good eyesight find it difficult to cope? What a blind person really needs is the restoration of his or her sight. Medical science has been helping to restore the sight of some of those who are blind but their treatment relates only to physical blindness and they can do nothing about spiritual blindness. The only person that is able to deal with both types of blindness is Jesus Christ. What marvels the Lord works for us?
When we talk about being blind we normally mean not being able to see with our eyes. But there is also a blindness that affects the eyes of our spiritual understanding. There is physical blindness and there is spiritual blindness. Bartimaeus was blind physically and could not see Jesus with his eyes but he saw Him for Who He is. He saw Him with his spiritual eyes. In fact those who are spiritually blind are even worse off than those who are physically blind because spiritual blindness has eternal consequences. Spiritual blindness is failing to see God for Who He is and trusting Him to fulfil what He says. Spiritual blindness leads to eternal separation from God.
Bartimaeus, because he was blind, was a beggar living on the generosity of others. This limitation prevented any gainful employment, as he could not see the things around him for what they really were. We all know the story about three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant. The first blind man went up to the elephant and felt its trunk that to him was long and thin. He therefore described the elephant as a large snake. The second blind man felt the leg of the elephant and he described the elephant as a large and round tree. The third blind man felt the tail of the elephant and he described the elephant as a rope. They were all right in a way but their descriptions were inadequate because they did not have the full picture. In the same way spiritual blindness limits our sight and prevents us from seeing spiritual things as they really are. A team of intercessors from Sweden were invited to hold a revival in an American city and after a few days they realised that the attendance was extremely poor. They were not used to this situation at all and they began to investigate. Suddenly it dawned on them that although they were in a predominantly black area all the ministers involved in the revival from the city were white and all those who came were also white. Suddenly their eyes were opened and spiritually they saw a spirit of racism operating in the city and preventing the people from responding to the good news. The next night they called a meeting of all the ministers in the city and for the first time white and black ministers met in the same Church. As they prayed together a spirit of reconciliation began to move among them and they began to embrace each other and confess the sin of envy that had separated them. All subsequent meetings that took place after that night were well attended with all races taking part and the city experienced its greatest revival. Spiritual blindness, like physical blindness, prevents us from seeing spiritual things as they really are. We can overcome this limitation by coming to Christ to restore our sight. The Lord says, “we should call to Him and He will answer us and tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know.”
To deal with blindness one has to first accept the reality of the situation. We have to see things are they really are. Bartimaeus knew he was blind and it was this limitation that had reduced him to begging for a living. He acknowledged his condition and did something about it. It is not enough to just acknowledge your condition, you also need to do something about it. Like Bartimaeus we also need to persevere and not allow others to distract us from the help we need. He persisted though the crowd yelled at him to shut up. In fact, instead of being discouraged, he only shouted louder till Jesus called him. When we persevere as Bartimaeus did, the same crowd trying to distract us will end up becoming our ally.
Without accepting the reality of the situation we cannot find the necessary help. Blindness can result from loving ourselves so much that we fail to see anything but ourselves. It can also be the result of circumstances being experienced in life that leads to a feeling and sense of darkness that we even fail to see the light that is there. In a recent survey, it was discovered that in an average congregation about one fifth of the people would be feeling a sense of darkness because of a recent bereavement. A third of them may be facing the darkness of divorce or al least some degree of marital difficulty. About half of them would be having dark problems of adjusting emotionally to school, to job, to home or to the community. Others would be afflicted with a deep sense of guilt stemming from their inability to deal maturely with their life or because of dependence on drugs or alcohol. Jesus is willing to give us the solution to our problems. What are we asking for that is going to make a difference in our lives? Bartimaeus could have settled for a lot less. He could have asked for alms and financial breakthrough. I believe this is the way many of us today would behave. Although God has so much for us what we often want from Him is only financial breakthrough. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Bartimaeus persevered in the midst of opposition. He would not give up and neither should we. We should learn to overcome the voices of opposition that seek to prevent us from realising our potentials.
Whenever we want something from the Lord, we have got to learn how to use what we have. We have to learn how to be persistent. To attract the attention of Christ we have to admit and confess our shortcomings. Christ wants to heal us but do we want to be healed. Jesus knew exactly what was wrong with Bartimaeus but He wanted him to ask for his healing. Jesus will not respond till we put our need to Him. Sincerely inviting Jesus into any situation without trying to change or whitewash it brings restoration. Bartimaeus acknowledged the Lordship of Christ in his use of the title ‘Son of David’ because he knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of David.
The reason we cannot overcome our limitations is often because we get so focused on it that we ignore what we have. Bartimaeus was blind, but he was not deaf. He heard about the miracles and believed while the religious leaders who witnessed those miracles could not believe. They were blind to Jesus’ identity and refused to open their eyes to the truth. Bartimaeus’ belief in the Messiah led to his healing. He knew Jesus could heal him and nothing was going to prevent him from going to Him. Most of us if we were blind would spend our time complaining about being blind, and ignore the fact that we could hear. Instead of moaning and complaining about what we don’t have, we should be thanking God for what we have. It’s a scientific fact that when nature takes away one sense, the others will become stronger to maintain the balance and the hearing of those who are blind is quickened and heightened. Bartimaeus did not focus on his limitations but on what he had, his hearing. He heard and believed. In ancient times throughout the Middle East and even today, the blind wore a special tunic to serve as protection to keep them cool in the sun and dry in the rain. This tunic was also used to identify them, just as today a white cane would. It was a symbol of his blindness and by throwing it away was a confirmation he had already accepted his healing. When Bartimaeus received both physical and spiritual healing, he immediately understood the importance of following Christ. It is only Christ who can make us see things as they really are so that ideas about the love of Christ become our experience and believing God becomes a way of life.
Only a person who believes he needs medical help will go to a doctor. When we come to Christ we are not coming to a doctor. Jesus is more than a doctor; He is the Healer. We should never allow our limitations to prevent us from achieving God’s divine purpose for our lives. We all know an Elephant can pick up a ton with his trunk. An Elephant is one of the most powerful animals there is. Yet if you go to a circus, you will see a massive animal tied to a little stake in the ground, and He will stay there. He has the potential to go anywhere he wants to but does not believe it can. The elephant’s problem is a mental and not a physical limitation. When he was young, he was tied to a stake that was deep in the ground before he got his strength. He pulled and struggled as a youngster and just couldn’t get away from it. One day he accepted the fact he wasn’t going to get away. From then on, he decided, whenever he was tied to the stake he was stuck. The elephant had allowed the limitations that had been placed upon it to keep it from becoming what it could possibly be. It doesn’t cross his mind that he is not the same elephant he was years earlier without much strength. Nor does he recognize, the stake is not nearly as strong as it once was. Some of us need to wake up to the fact that we are not the same person we were back then. God has equipped us with additional strength and if we get up the nerve to challenge what’s holding us back, we could find a whole new world waiting for us to be in charge. To move beyond our particular limitations, we have got to decide to do whatever is necessary. People are not interested in always seeing us succeed. They may see our success to mean that they are missing out on something they could have had. We must be prepared to go against the crowd to reach our potential. We might not have all that we need to complete the process, but we have got Jesus Christ and He is all we need. When God opens a door of opportunity to us let us take it with gratitude and use it to glorify His name. We all recognize the name Levi Strauss. He went to California to look for gold in the 1840’s. Strauss left his home with a load of heavy canvas fabric that he planned to sell for tents and wagon covers. When Strauss set up his place of business, the first miner who came in said it would have been better if he had brought pants instead. The miner explained to Strauss that there were not any pants that were strong enough to endure the tough conditions of mining. Levi Strauss immediately took the heavy canvas fabric that he had brought with him and made the miner a pair of work pants, the first Levi jeans. Within days, Levi Strauss struck gold. Not the bright, shiny gold found in the ground or rivers, but the gold of opportunity. Opportunities only become opportunities when we embrace them as opportunities. God may offer something to us, however, if we refuse to accept it, the opportunity will be missed. An opportunity must be seized, grabbed, accepted, taken. Bartimaeus accepted the opportunity that was presented by Jesus. He called out to Him with a loud voice. Today, before every one of us is a door of opportunity. Today, God may be calling you to recommit yourself to a walk with Him. Today, there may be a place of service in the church that God wants you to fill. Today, God may be calling you to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour. Let us follow the example of Bartimaeus and make use of the opportunity that God is giving us. Amen!
