relationships (Mark 10:46-52) Unencumbered Closeness

(Mark 10:46-52)

46 Then they came to Jericho. And later, as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a beggar who was blind named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him here.” So they called the man who was blind, saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And replying to him, Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And the man who was blind said to Him, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

All too many times, we worry about the optics for ourselves or maybe for someone we might follow and respect.  Obviously, we are to respect others, and unless life-threatening, it would be rude to interrupt or create a disturbance during a royal procession.  Afterall, there is to be decorum and crowd management, for safety reasons, as well as for all the other people to have the ability to fully enjoy the pomp and circumstance.  But here is a blind man, at the mercy and charity of others.  And there goes Jesus, making His way out of the city.  That was most likely this man's last opportunity, and he was going to do whatever he could to get Jesus' attention.

Now, this man was already a believer.  We can know this, because he referred to Jesus as the Son of David, and Rabboni, which translates to master- chief- prince- Lord- CHRIST!!!  Although blind and unable to read any scriptures, he had certainly been listening!  And this man knew that Jesus was their promised Messiah (Christ).

Now, also notice that Jesus doesn't go to the man- who is blind!  He calls him over.  I'm quite sure that this man, who KNEW the Lord as his personal Savior, could sense exactly where Jesus was standing!  And not only could he find his way to Jesus, he threw off his cloak, which was a very valuable article of clothing, which would also serve as one's blanket at night, and in the day, a collection bag of sorts.  The man wanted to be unencumbered by such "frivolous" things, so that he could hurry to Jesus' side!

Jesus had no stern warnings for this man.  Jesus didn't even speak to him about not sinning anymore.  Jesus simply asked what the man wanted, and then told him that his faith had made him well.  And then the man physically followed Jesus!

I'm struck here with a thought.  A few chapters back, we were told that Jesus left His hometown, unable to do many miracles there because of the lack of faith.  Here we see that because of the man's faith, his "prayer" request was answered and he was physically healed.  From other scripture, we know that sin impedes our prayers and that praying in God's will, with faith, will result in answered prayers... Therefore, we need to realize that lacking faith, belief and trust in God- is- a sin- which we should not only confess, but we can ask the Lord to help us in having more faith, belief and trust.  Just like the one man said, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!"  Brilliant!!!  And this is a prayer request that God will definitely answer!

In a personal relationship with the Lord, we will know that He is God!  With God all things are possible... including and especially His work on the cross!  If and when we stray away- it is IF-AND-WHEN we decide to look for His light, we will see Him, so that we can run back to Him!  If and when circumstances bring struggles into our lives, it is IF-AND-WHEN we continue to get to know Jesus better, that we can sense His presence, so that we stay close to Him!  So, do we know Him enough to recognize His light and sense His presence?  In our needs and in our excitement, do we enthusiastically toss aside everything that encumbers us from being by Jesus' side and following Him?

relationships (Mark 10:41-52) serving vs manipulating

(Mark 10:41-52)

41 Hearing this, the other ten began to feel indignant with James and John. 42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them; and their people in high position exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you; rather, whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:

Ha!  So we see that the other disciples were indignant- displeased... because why?  They might have been angry that James and John got to Jesus before they could with this request.  They might have felt self-righteous, thinking that if anyone should get those positions of prominence, it should be them.  Otherwise, why would Jesus have called them over for this important teaching moment?!

Our natural- SINFUL- inclination is to control.  Just to get our own way, people will say, do, implement and attempt various strategies, at home, at work, at school, and yes, sadly even at church.  People rarely say what they actually mean.  And while everyone can find themselves playing games, even with "good" intentions, some have it down to an art form, and some implement their manipulation tactics out of a learned habit.  Even if they have been formed as coping skills to survive, these "instinctual" reactions will not be healthy... UNLESS one's instinctual reactions involve going to God for His help and direction.  

An astute parent will realize that their babies very quickly learn how to manipulate.  There is the sincere cry of fear, discomfort and hunger, but then there is the selfish cry, just to get Mommy running over to fuss, dote and coddle.  Obviously, there's nothing wrong with just being with our children just for the sake of being with them.  But even babies have to learn that Mom and Dad have other duties, and they have needs as well.  In fact, an important task of Mom and Dad is to train up and equip their children, so that they are able to leave home, and live their lives!

Just like life isn't all about ourselves (the parents), life is NOT all about themselves (the babies).  If a baby has already learned how to manipulate, the baby is "old enough" to start to learn patience and how to trust Mom and Dad.  Constant instant gratification is actually not the epitome of love.  Sure, the doting parent will see themselves as a servant, and with sincere love, we should desire to demonstrate sacrificial love.  But let's put this into a healthy perspective.  

As a parent (or friend), we have to ask ourselves why we might be doting on someone.  Is it because it makes us feel better somehow?  Is it to earn or gain more control over the other person?  Are we secretly training others to depend on us, or are we teaching others to depend on God?!  Because what we might be doing under the "guise of love", could be doing way more harm than good!

We know that God loves us!  Now, when we pray and ask God for something, does God always give us instant gratification?  Only sometimes.  But then, most often in fact, as the perfect, heavenly Father, who knows what is best for us, He will say, "No," because what we request would be harmful to us, and/or He has something much better in mind for us.  He will sometimes say, "Just wait."  There are so many reasons why it might be best for us to wait.  In the meantime, God wants and asks us to rest in Him, rely on Him, and trust in Him that He knows what He is doing.  

After all, the Lord God, came in flesh to be our ultimate example to follow, as having the heart of a servant and a slave, who is the very definition of agape love (which is sacrificial, selfless and unconditional)!  And remember, because God is love, He never forces anyone to love Him back, and He never forces anyone to obey Him.  Yet, God will never enable us in our sinful behaviors.  He doesn't tell us what we want to hear, He tells us, in love, what we need to hear.  And in His great patience, (another example for us to follow), He never expects us to be perfect.  He extends to us His grace, because He KNOWS we are going to make mistakes, and so, His arms are always opened wide for us to run back to Him... because we realize that doing things His way, is so much better, and always works!

So very quickly then.  How can we avoid plotting and playing games of control and manipulation?. It helps to stop thinking about what others can do for us, and start praying and asking God to show us ways that we can serve Him, and serve others.  And in this, our only motive should be to demonstrate God's love, and to give God all of the glory!