Mark 8:22-26: And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."
This is one of those strange passages in the Gospels that makes me wonder every time I read it. What in the world is going on with Jesus in this story? I mean just in the previous chapter, He heals a woman who simply touches the fringe of His garment, exhibiting His marvelous power. And now, there's this really detailed story of a seeming "oops" moment for Jesus. Something about where I am in my journey this week made me stop and really think this story through this week. And it REALLY spoke to me.
The first thing that strikes me in the passage, is that when the blind man meets Jesus, Jesus takes him by the hand and leads him out of the village. Jesus could have healed the man at the very first touch of the hand, and everyone would have walked away really happy. Jesus certainly did this on many other occasions. But, this time, for some reason, while the man's eyes are still closed, Jesus takes the blind man by the hand and takes him on a little journey outside the man's comfort zone.
Then, another strange twist, Jesus spits on the blind man's eyes and then touches them. I'm sure the man was like, "what in the world are you doing to me Jesus??" Not only is he still blind, now he's got messy spit on him. Finally he opens his eyes, and all he sees are men walking about, but they look like trees. So, Jesus has given the man some amount of vision. He can see something, but there's no clarity. Everything's foggy. I wonder how the blind man felt. Disappointed, disillusioned, frustrated at Jesus's lack of power in his life?
Jesus, being good as He is, touches the man a second time. Finally, the man's sight is "restored, and he saw everything clearly." I imagine the man's total relief at this point. After a very strange, unexpected, unnerving series of events, Christ has made the blind man well and he can see EVERYTHING clearly.
So, how does this speak to our own journeys? Sometimes, Jesus touches us and immediately we are whole, we see things just as He sees them, and we walk away really happy and blessed.
But, other times, Jesus takes His time with us. He leads us by the hand and tells us, "walk by faith and not by sight." Sometimes, He touches us and gives us some clarity, some vision, but all we can really see are "walking trees". We are confused and our faith is shaken. We still have more to see, and all we can do is to wait for Him to touch us again, and hope that we will finally see.
I don't know where you are in your faith journey today. Maybe, like me, you feel blind and are being led by the hand to a place you don't quite know, outside your comfort zone, and you wonder if Jesus will ever just unleash His power and give you clear sight and direction. Take heart friend! Jesus, in His own way, will bring clarity. It might get messy, but we just have to keep holding on to faith, knowing that He CAN and WILL do it.
Keep walking, keep following, keep letting Jesus take the lead.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A Beautiful Dying
Matthew 16:24-26, "Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?'"
When Grant, Judah, and I went out to the 2-week orientation course for Servants to Asia's Urban Poor, it was October and the fall colors in Vancouver were brilliant. Being inside for seminars all day, I relished the few hours of the day when the three of us could go for a nice walk and be surrounded by trees and fresh air. Our seminars were heavy. And the readings I had done by Servant's missionaries were also quite heavy. The theme I kept grappling with, that almost every speaker spoke of, was dying to self. Each time I heard or read that theme, I would cringe. It seems so harsh, so depressing, so cold, so useless. Why should I die to myself? The obvious answer is that Jesus told us to. But, that answer just wasn't doing it for me. I denied myself when I went to Afghanistan. And the entire time I was there, I questioned God and myself, "is this really worth it??" The struggle, the extreme heat, the extreme cold, the abusive language hurled from male bystanders just because I was a woman. On a day to day basis, the observable results were just not worth it. Thinking of denying myself and going again to live amongst the poor, and this time in an urban slum, and this time with a family, I just couldn't wrap my heart around it.
On the final day of the two weeks, each of the orientation participants were asked to make, do, talk about something beautiful that they saw throughout the two week experience. My mind immediately went to the beautiful Fall leaves my eyes soaked in each day. Then I thought about those leaves. Each of them, yellow, red, brown, orange, they were all dying. But their death was a brilliant sight to behold. I thought about the dying that Jesus was calling me to and realized that that death is also beautiful. What would I really be dying to? Sin, selfishness, over-consumption, materialism, entitlement, instant gratification, laziness, constant access to TV and internet. I mean, is that really what I want my life to be marked by??
After Fall comes Winter, and then eventually Spring. And so it is with this dying to self. Once I have died to sin and worldliness, there is finally room for new growth. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24)." Wow, how I long for God to bear fruit in my life and through my life and through my "death". There is a beauty in dying, and an even greater beauty in newness of life!
So what is Jesus asking you to die to? What are the sins in your life that mask themselves in "entitlement", "need", or "keeping up with the Joneses?" What can you lay down now so that new fruit can be borne in your life and through your life?
When Grant, Judah, and I went out to the 2-week orientation course for Servants to Asia's Urban Poor, it was October and the fall colors in Vancouver were brilliant. Being inside for seminars all day, I relished the few hours of the day when the three of us could go for a nice walk and be surrounded by trees and fresh air. Our seminars were heavy. And the readings I had done by Servant's missionaries were also quite heavy. The theme I kept grappling with, that almost every speaker spoke of, was dying to self. Each time I heard or read that theme, I would cringe. It seems so harsh, so depressing, so cold, so useless. Why should I die to myself? The obvious answer is that Jesus told us to. But, that answer just wasn't doing it for me. I denied myself when I went to Afghanistan. And the entire time I was there, I questioned God and myself, "is this really worth it??" The struggle, the extreme heat, the extreme cold, the abusive language hurled from male bystanders just because I was a woman. On a day to day basis, the observable results were just not worth it. Thinking of denying myself and going again to live amongst the poor, and this time in an urban slum, and this time with a family, I just couldn't wrap my heart around it.
On the final day of the two weeks, each of the orientation participants were asked to make, do, talk about something beautiful that they saw throughout the two week experience. My mind immediately went to the beautiful Fall leaves my eyes soaked in each day. Then I thought about those leaves. Each of them, yellow, red, brown, orange, they were all dying. But their death was a brilliant sight to behold. I thought about the dying that Jesus was calling me to and realized that that death is also beautiful. What would I really be dying to? Sin, selfishness, over-consumption, materialism, entitlement, instant gratification, laziness, constant access to TV and internet. I mean, is that really what I want my life to be marked by??
After Fall comes Winter, and then eventually Spring. And so it is with this dying to self. Once I have died to sin and worldliness, there is finally room for new growth. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24)." Wow, how I long for God to bear fruit in my life and through my life and through my "death". There is a beauty in dying, and an even greater beauty in newness of life!
So what is Jesus asking you to die to? What are the sins in your life that mask themselves in "entitlement", "need", or "keeping up with the Joneses?" What can you lay down now so that new fruit can be borne in your life and through your life?
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