“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.
Mark 10:51,52
I know that I’m a piece of work. That I have miles to go. But there is one thing that I truly believe that I’m entitled to. And that’s for ordering in a fast-food restaurant to happen fast. After all, people have been standing in line for five-minutes. Looking at the menu on the wall. Talking about what they’re going to order.
But then something happens when they get to the front of the line. It’s like they’ve gone back in time and never looked at the menu before. Or they’ve looked at the Neuralyzer from Men in Black[1]. Or they’ve undergone some experimental procedure, erasing their memory through a bolt of electricity.
Bart’s been getting ready for this moment since going blind. He’s also been yelling out to Jesus for some time. He was criticized and told to shut up by the crowd. But Jesus hears and tells everyone that he wants to meet Bart. Bart jumps up, drops all he owns, and runs to Jesus.
When Bart arrives, Jesus asks the obvious and Bart replies with the obvious. Everyone could have predicted that Bart was going to ask for his sight. But did everyone expect Jesus to change his blindness into sight? Was it obvious to everyone, even Bart, that Jesus could and would heal him?
Jesus answers by telling Bart to go. The reason Jesus told him to go is that going would be the first step of healing and sight. These would have been the first steps that Bart saw by faith in a very long time. No more stumbling around in the forever darkness of blindness.
Jesus told Bart to go, and everything changed. And when Jesus tells us to go, everything changes.
When you go under a bridge, it’s never to stay there but to get on the other side. When you go into a tunnel, it’s never to stay there but to get to the other side.
When Jesus tells us to go, it’s never to stay where we are. We’re to begin the move in order to get to another place.
Has God ever told you to go? Remember what that was like? It started with a small step, and then another. There was a decision. That lead to another. And then another. There was a change. And then another.
It’s never like the Transporter on Star Trek[2]. You never push a button, throw a switch, or raise a sliding bar, and poof, there you are. When Jesus tells us to go, it’s a process. It’s a journey. It’s an adventure. And it all starts with that first step.
Yes, there may be an immediate change. Yes, there may be great joy. Yes, there may be observable and significant differences in your life. But it’s still a journey. And a journey takes lots of steps. Lots of energy. And like all adventures, it takes time. Not everything is revealed or available all at once. There are twists and turns along the way.
But a journey must have a destination. A journey without a destination is just wandering around. When Jesus tells us to go, it’s always with a purpose. To a place. To people.
You see, blind Bart had blind trust. And that trust wasn’t in his own goodness. His position in the community. His stock portfolio. His contacts. What he had accomplished. What he was planning to do. His blind trust was in a person, and that person was Jesus.
When Bart started to follow Jesus, it wasn’t because Jesus was popular. Or that he had a 3-point plan to get rid of the hated Romans. Reduce poverty. Provide medical coverage and a college to everyone. He followed because of who Jesus was and what he did for Bart.
Bart didn’t just follow Jesus for a little while. He didn’t stay with Jesus till he got to the edge of town, waving goodbye as he walked away into the setting sun. No, Bart actively and continuously followed Jesus. He stuck to Jesus like glue. It’s like what Lionel Richie wrote and sang in “Stuck on You.”
I'm stuck on you
I've got this feeling down deep in my soul that I just can't lose
Guess I'm on my way
Needed a friend
And the way I feel now I guess I'll be with you 'til the end
Guess I'm on my way
I'm mighty glad you stayed
I'm mighty glad you stayed[3]
Which brings up the question, how stuck are you on Jesus? Are you willing to drop anything and everything to follow him? To do what he says is best?
That’s where true healing begins. That’s where we lose our selfish blindness and receive his sight. True sight.
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