Mark 10:46-52
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart. Get up; he is calling you." 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." 52 And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels:
Let us strive and pray that we may have like precious faith. We, too are not allowed to see Jesus with our bodily eyes. But we have the report of His power, and grace and willingness to save, in the Gospel. We have exceeding great promises from His own lips, written down for our encouragement. Let us trust those promises implicitly and commit our soul to Christ unhesitatingly. Let us not be afraid to repose all our confidence on His own gracious words and to believe that what He had engaged to do for sinners. He will surely preform. What is the beginning of all saving faith but a soul's venture on Christ? What is the life of saving faith, when once begun, but a continual leaning on an unseen Saviour's word? What is the first step of a Christian but a crying, like Bartimaeus, "Jesus have mercy on me?" What is the daily course of a Christain but keeping up the same spirit of faith? "Though now we see Him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8)
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Oh, to have the faith of Bartimaeus.
Do you call out to Jesus in confidence, trusting He will hear our pleas and act according to his will?
Do you believe that although you do not see Jesus, He is alive and he is 'real'.
Do you believe the Holy Scriptures that tell of his power and willingness to save?
The scripture passage and J.C. Ryle quote came directly from my church bulletin from yesterday's service. I was blessed and challenged and encouraged. The scripture reading brought me to tears. Where is my faith? Is it in people or things or is it in the only One who is worthy of my faith and praise? Jesus. That's it. It really is that simple.
3 comments:
Thanks, Janet.
"...continual leaning on an unseen Saviour's word..."
Sometimes I think my leaning will result in me tipping over. But it never does. It's when I stop leaning and try to balance on my own two feet that I trip and fall and skin my knees.
It's so easy today to have faith in "knowing". The internet and books and other forms of knowledge are so readily available that it is too simple to turn to these things when we need strength. It's unfortunate that such a foundation only reveals how weak it is when we have put too much weight on it!
I like to think that I have the faith of Bartemaeus, but I definitely struggle. I guess the good thing is that I am struggling to have a stronger faith in the only one worthy of my faith. Jesus Christ.
Thanks for the encouraging post, Janet!
I believe.
And I thank you for sharing this beautiful and true message of faith.
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