Blind Faith



Faith isn't for beginners. It doesn't come naturally to human beings. We prefer security. Safety. Surety. And faith means giving all that up. Letting go of everything we thought we could count on.

That's what Bartimeus did in today's Gospel  "He threw aside his cloak." In 30 AD, cloaks were a big deal. They were all the poor had: their all-in-one tent, house, coat and blanket. 

Bartimeus threw it all away. And he was blind. He wasn't going to get any of it back... unless Jesus healed him.

Bartimeus was smart. Because he would have lost his cloak anyway, to mold, moths or thieves.

Bartimeus was healed. Because he believed in Jesus when he couldn't see Jesus. Because he chose to live on a prayer. Because he threw it all away.

We're blind too. We can't see God. But we can see that the things we base our life on aren't much better than Bartimeus' cloak. They rot. They wear out. They get taken away.

Throw them away. You'll find something much stronger in God's love... if you let him love you. To do that, you have to leave your cloaks behind.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous30 May, 2013

    Wonderful insights! What occurs to me as I read the story is, that, being blind, if Jesus did not or would not heal him, he'd have absolutely no way of regaining that precious cloak ever again. Without sight he couldn't find it - and the odds are someone else could have taken it.

    I love the way your article reminds me to be detached from anything that would interfere with my responding in love to the call of Christ!

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