Getting Noticed

Where do you go for help?

Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again." But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." Then he shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has saved you." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God. - Luke 18:31-43

The man crying out for Jesus to stop and help him is blind.  For him, this was his only chance to see again, so he ignored those who tried to silence him, and he got Jesus' attention.

Jesus credits the man for his faith.  It is his determination to get Jesus to see him that makes the miracle cure happen.

We tend to forget that when we read these stories of faith.  And we fail to understand why Jesus is saying it is his faith that has cured him.

Whatever affliction we have, whatever it is we are struggling with, whatever senses we have lost or are losing, it is up to us to cry out for Jesus to help us.

We can do that.  But we won't.

We will rely on what the experts tell us are our chances for success with treatments that don't always work, and we will ignore the fact that sometimes what happens is totally unexplained.

So, why not hedge our bets and believe?

I, for one, will evaluate all that the experts tell me, and I will take my medicine willingly, but my faith will remain in God.

Being the one Jesus helps is not left to chance.  It was due to action on the part of the one in need of help, so it must be the same for us.

Jesus, I cry out to you to heal me.

That's not so difficult, is it?

Now if others silence me, I guess I just have to cry out a bit louder, and make my way to him.

More to come...