Joshua 15:1-63
Luke 18:18-43
Psalm 86:1-17
Proverbs 13:9-10
What a fascinating contrast between the "certain ruler" and the blind beggar. Could there have been two more different people in scripture? The both encountered Jesus, but one of them left filled with sadness, the other filled with awe and praise. Why?
Let's state the obvious, then ask the tough questions. The ruler had the security of his position, his authority, and his wealth. In his comfortable existence, what he didn't have was a need for God. So yeah, he followed the rules - but that was because that's what people in his position did, right? Yes he was obedient, but his obedience was superficial. It wasn't premised on a desperate need for God, which is why there were things he could not give up. And why he went away sad.
The blind beggar, on the other hand, had nothing - the only hope he had was Jesus. You saw it in his desperation - people were telling him to shut up, but he had nothing to lose by ticking them all off. He was blind. He was a beggar. He had nothing, nada, zip. He was desperate - and this miracle-working rabbi he'd heard about was the only possible hope he had. So he cried out, expressing with his voice the need, the dependence of his heart on God. And Jesus gave him the desire of his heart - not just his sight, but a relationship with Him: he "followed Jesus, praising God."
So here are the tough questions: How desperate are we for God? And is there anything in our lives that prevents us from seeing how desperate we should be for Him, anything we would be reluctant to give up to get to know Him? And if there are such things, what do we do about them?
Father, teach us to realize how desperate we really should be for Jesus, how helpless we are without Him. Give us hearts ready and willing to give up anything and everything that gets in the way of that realization, so that we might cry out to Him, have Him answer us, and then follow Him filled with praise.
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