We're all familiar with the old saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease."
Well, that's sort of what happens in this story.As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. In his gospel, Mark said the blind beggar's name was Bartimeaus and in Matthew's version there were actually two blind men by the side of the road.
Upon hearing that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, the blind man cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me" (vs. 38).
When some of those with Jesus told him to keep quiet, the blind man continued to cry out for mercy, calling Jesus the Son of David. By calling Jesus the Son of David the blind man was confessing that Jesus was the Messiah.
Jesus stopped and had the blind man brought to Him and asked what he wanted.
The blind man said he wanted to see and immediately Jesus healed him.
Now, the formerly blind man began to follow Jesus and glorify God as he followed along. His exuberance seemed to impact all the other people following Jesus and they began to praise and glorify God as well. It's almost like he became the praise and worship leader for Jesus's followers.
The relentless blind man in this story and the persistent widow in the parable told by Jesus at the beginning of this chapter (vs. 1-8) demonstrate the same principle.
You get God's attention when you plead for God's will to occur in your life!
When you become relentless about pursuing God's will...
When God's will becomes all that matters in your life...
Then God listens and grants your request!
"I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).
Thank you so much for sharing your journals. I enjoy your posts. A scripture that affirms what you have written here is Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The Christian faith, that intimate relationship that God desires with us, is not a passive relationship. I must actively seek and pursue God’s will for me. I must “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12 (NIV)
ReplyDeleteMay God continue to bless you.
Lesa
You make a good point. It seems that what Jesus taught was pretty well covered in what God had revealed about Himself and His plans in the Law and the Prophets. Thanks for your comments and encouragement. It is always my hope and prayer that these meditations can be a blessing or encouragement to others...Steve M
Delete