Passing By

Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Matthew 20:30

What I'm writing today isn't new, but it's always fresh. It's always real, and it's always beautiful. Today, in your life, my life, everyone's life, Jesus is passing by. What will you do with Him? Will He keep going on, or will you cry out to Him for His presence, His wholeness, His healing?

The two blind men had likely spent a great amount of time sitting beside that road, likely begging money from those who were walking by. Obviously they'd heard of Jesus, of His works and ministry. Were they waiting for Him, hoping that on this day might be the day He would come by, see them, and give them their sight? Or maybe this was just where they always sat and though they knew who He was, never believed He'd actually come by them, or if He did, that He'd even notice them. In any event, when they did hear that He was near, they called out to Him with all their being, with all their need. They were not going to miss Him. Maybe they had before, but they would not on this day. They called, He came to them. He asked what they would have from Him. They wanted their sight, and He gave it to them. What would have happened had they not called out. We can't be sure, but I think He would have kept on going by. Jesus responds to our faith in the midst of our need. That's why so many of us miss His passing by.

We are all, in our own way and need, sitting by the side of the road. We sit there with our pain, our grief, our loss. We sit there with our crippled lives and souls. We sit there in our sin. We sit there in our desperate need for Him. He knows this. It's why He's there in the first place. Scripture says that He came to "seek and save that which has been lost," but He will never force Himself upon us. If we're willing to let Him keep going, He will. How many times have we let Him do so, all the while holding tightly to our pain and need? Will we do so again....today?

Someone said that we don't invite Christ into our lives, He invites us into His. With each passing, He does so. He invites us into all His life, to experience the fullness of His life. What will we do with that invitation? What will you do? Do we continue to sit beside the road, crushed by our need and pain, or do we give it all to Him, along with ourselves, and be healed, restored, made whole? We have that choice in His constant passing by. What choice do we make? What choice do you make....as He passes by you right now?

Blessings,
Pastor O