I harp a lot about us really being honest. This small excerpt from a book I am studying made me think of that.
(The words are all the author's, except for the one sentence that is followed by my initials.)
There are quite a few people who may have bumped into Jesus along the way, but it didn’t stick the first time. It’s not a failed attempt when it happens, just like Jesus didn’t mess up the miracle the first time He touched the guy’s eyes. God wants us to be real with Him about the effect He’s had in our lives. I’ll level with you: if I were the blind guy in the story, I would have been tempted to lie to Jesus after the first touch and tell Him I was healed. You know, just so Jesus wouldn’t look bad. (And probably, more so, that I wouldn’t look like I had weak faith. WTE) But what Jesus is looking for are honest answers about what’s really going on in our lives, not a bunch of spin. The reason is simple. If the guy without sight had faked it and said he could see everything just fine after the first touch, he wouldn’t have been actually healed.
The truth is, we don’t really know why Jesus touched this man’s eyes twice. I think some of the miracles God does in our lives happen in stages. Even though we’ve been touched by God, we still don’t see people for who they are until something more happens in us. It’s not trees we confuse them for; it’s opinions and positions, social issues and status, titles and accomplishments and behaviors.
(The words are all the author's, except for the one sentence that is followed by my initials.)
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When I read the stories in the Bible about the blind people Jesus met, I can identify with them a little more. The one I probably relate to the most is the guy who got his sight healed twice. After Jesus touched this guy the first time, He asked him what he could see. The man told Jesus, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Jesus touched his eyes a second time, and it was only after the second touch that he could see things the way they really were. First touches, like first impressions, are great, but I think a lot of us need a second touch.There are quite a few people who may have bumped into Jesus along the way, but it didn’t stick the first time. It’s not a failed attempt when it happens, just like Jesus didn’t mess up the miracle the first time He touched the guy’s eyes. God wants us to be real with Him about the effect He’s had in our lives. I’ll level with you: if I were the blind guy in the story, I would have been tempted to lie to Jesus after the first touch and tell Him I was healed. You know, just so Jesus wouldn’t look bad. (And probably, more so, that I wouldn’t look like I had weak faith. WTE) But what Jesus is looking for are honest answers about what’s really going on in our lives, not a bunch of spin. The reason is simple. If the guy without sight had faked it and said he could see everything just fine after the first touch, he wouldn’t have been actually healed.
The truth is, we don’t really know why Jesus touched this man’s eyes twice. I think some of the miracles God does in our lives happen in stages. Even though we’ve been touched by God, we still don’t see people for who they are until something more happens in us. It’s not trees we confuse them for; it’s opinions and positions, social issues and status, titles and accomplishments and behaviors.
