By Dr. Rebekah McCloud

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) each have a story about Jesus giving or restoring sight to the blind. I’ll give you the short version of the stories, you can read the full stories on your own.

Matthew 20:30-34 tells of two blind men who were sitting by the road, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out to him to have mercy on them. Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him as His disciples.

Mark 8:22-26 tells about some people who brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch the man. Jesus spat on the man’s eyes, and laid His hands on him, and asked, “Do you see anything?”  The man said, “I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking around.” Jesus laid His hands on the man’s eyes a second time; and the man’s sight was completely restored, and he began to see everything clearly.

Luke 18:35-43 tells of Jesus restoring the sight of Bartimaeus on the Jericho road. When Bartimaeus was brought to Jesus, verse 41 says Jesus asked, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Bartimaeus said, “Lord, let me regain my sight!” Jesus said to him, “Regain your sight; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus, glorifying and praising and honoring God. And all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

Finally, John 9:6-11 tells of Jesus healing a man born blind.  The scriptures tell that Jesus spat on the ground and made mud with His saliva, and He spread the mud like an ointment on the man’s eyes and told the man to “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” The man did so and gain his sight.

So, now I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with stewardship? I submit to you, that sometimes we are like the blind when it comes to our obligations and commitments as good stewards. We either don’t see, choose not to see, or see through a glass darkly. Here are a few questions for us to ponder:

First, our time—Do we have time to serve the Lord? To serve our church? To serve our fellow man? Do we have time to read and study to show ourselves approved? Do we fill our time with stuff? Have we forgotten that only what we do for God will last? How do we use our time?

Second, our talent—Do we use our God-given gifts and talents to serve our church? To further the gospel? To praise God? Or, do we bury or talent in the ground or hide it under a bushel? Do we remember that God gave us gifts and talents to use and give them back to him; for his glory? Have we forgotten that if we keep silent, the rocks will cry out for us? How do we use our talent?

Third, our resources—Do we use our resources (especially our money) to support the gospel? To support our church? To assist our community and fellowman? Do we remember the widows, the orphans, the sick and the poor? Do we give our tithes and offerings or do we rob God? Are we grateful for what God provides for us, little or much? How do we use our resources?

Let me leave you with a song by the Booth Brothers. It’s called He saw it all (The Blind Man Song). The lyrics say:

“I was working in town one afternoon

Attending some business affairs

I heard a commotion a couple streets over

And wondered. “What’s happenin’ there”

A young man was running from in that direction

And stopped just to catch his breath

I asked him to please tell me what was the hurry

He smiled up at me and he said.

I was trying to catch the crippled man

Did he run past this way?

He was rushing home to tell everyone

What Jesus did today

And the mute man was telling myself and the deaf girl He’s leaving to answer God’s call

It’s hard to believe but if you don’t trust me

Ask the blind man, he saw it all.”

Amen, what a testimony to the wonder working power of the Lord. The good news of this song and the accounts of the blind men in the Gospels, is at the end, they all could see.

For homework, let’s think about the three areas of stewardship (time, talent and resources). Where might we have blind spots? Lord, touch our eyes and restore our sight. Amen.

 

5/21/17