A Spiritual Eye Checkup

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During Jesus’ ministry in this world, one of the miracles He performed a lot was to heal the blind. Our eyes are a very important part of our makeup, but it is also the window to which sin breeds. From the moment we are born, when we have vision, our sinful nature amplifies. Our view of what is good, beauty, our tendency for lust and comparison all begins with our sight. Even my daughter, when she was just 4 years old, if she sees someone wearing a dress while she is not, she will get upset. And the influence of the world only intensifies this fallenness of sight. As we grow up, the information we receive, the news, the social media, how many of those tell us to praise God, love Him and grow closer to Him? A large part of them either cause us fear, worry or a heart to pursue more for self and such. We are all born in the darkness of our sins. But the main problem is that because we grow up in it, we are desensitised to knowing what real darkness is. We do not even realise we are treading on spiritual blindness and indifference over time. But Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So we need to know the true state of our lives. The spiritual blindness of not being able to see the light. The spirit that is always encircled by the darkness of the world we walk in. 

Let us look at Mark 10.

Mark 10:46-52 says “Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.” Now this passage tells us a few things.

Bartimaeus sees the Lord.

Firstly, Bartimaeus may be blind, but he “sees” the Lord. He knows the Lord for who He is. He knows the name of the Lord and even called Him, “Son of David.” He knows full well of what was prophesizeed in the Old Testament, about the descendant of David who is to be the Messiah. Bartimaeus knows it full well. But for the large crowd that is following Jesus, how many of them truly knows the Person they are following? Some may be merely there to see a miracle or some special experience. How many truly knows Jesus for who He is? But this blind Bartimaeus, he sees all these. 

Bartimaeus knows the mercy of God is what he truly needs.
And from his outcry, we can see that he also understands what mercy and grace means. He shouted, “Jesus, have mercy on me!” In today’s context, many people come to Jesus and pray mainly for some gains here and there. Or they pray that the God of grace and provision will give them something they want. Brothers and sisters, if we only come to God because we want to receive something, that is no longer grace. But when a person, like Bartimaeus shouts for the Lord to have mercy on them, that shows that the person knows their place. They know their sins before them, and they are in no place to request for anything from the Lord, but merely for His mercy and grace. Only by Jesus’ mercy can they depart from their present state of fallenness. So let us not have some hazy understanding of what God’s grace and mercy means, but like Bartimaeus, know God and know what our sinful nature truly needs.

Prayers for ourselves

Test for a pure heart

Now when Bartimaeus came to Jesus, Jesus asked him, “What can I do for you?” If Jesus came to you today with that same question, what would your response be? In Mark 10:35-37, the disciples of Jesus, James and John, came to Him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” Status, approval, recognition. Now one of the biggest problem with men’s heart is our pride. We always tend to hope for a good or exalted image in front of others. Especially when we start to take on some bigger roles or when we get praised, it is easy to feel an ego boost. But be careful lest it makes us lose Christ’s heartbeat in what we do. 

Coming to the Lord with the right heart

Bartimaeus reply to Jesus’ question was simply, “Rabbi, I want to see.” It is a very basic request for a true follower of Christ, and only the Lord can answer to that. Nowadays, when we start to have many of the basic things in life, like food, shelter, a place to study, to work and all, our desires also start to grow and branch out into other things. Over time, this will make us lose sight of God. So let us restore our request before the Lord to help us see Him. 

Become a witness for the Lord

Then, another thing we learn about Bartimaeus is, after he has received healing from his blindness, what is the first thing he did? Was it to quickly to go some place nice, to enjoy the beautiful sceneries he has missed out on seeing all this time? No, once he saw the Lord, he “follow Jesus along the road.” He may have followed Jesus all the way into His glorious entry to Jerusalem, up to His crucifixion and even His resurrection 2 days later. After which, with what he has witnessed with his newly restored eyes by Christ, he was to become a great witness for the Lord. Therefore, his eyes are truly blessed. In the same way, the Lord has also restored us in His word. Therefore, when we use what we have to serve God and our calling, we should use them to be witness for Him. If we use all we have to instead, chase after the things of the world, no matter how great the conditions of what we possess, it will all be wasted away. So Bartimaeus has shown us what it is like to be a true follower of Christ.

Everything comes from the Lord, for the Lord, to the Lord!

Finally, we must know that it is not that the Lord will not fulfil all the things we pray for. But the intent is important. So if we pray for our kids, for them to love the Lord. Or if we pray for our health so that we can continue to serve in areas for His people. Not for personal gains, ambition, but for purposes that matches God’s heartbeat, surely God will bring things to pass. 

Brothers and sisters, when things start to go smoothly in our lives, or when our circumstances and conditions are all good, let us remember the testimony of Bartimaeus. A true follower of Christ will remember that all they have comes from the Lord, to serve His purposes and to glorify Him. God bless.