Crying of Love

Sometimes I have to tell my children when they want me to do something that they have to wait a minute (unless, of course, it’s very serious). It is not that I don’t care, it’s just sometimes they catch me when I am involved in something, and they have to be patient.  I do let them know; however, I will get to them just as soon as possible. Thankfully our God is not too busy for us when we have a need and answers us when we call unto him.

In Mark 11:46-52, there is a story about a blind man named Bartimaeus. His story is only seven verses long, but the heart of Jesus and his love are very evident.

Jesus and His disciples, along with a crowd of people, were traveling through the city of Jericho, making their way out when Bartimaeus, who was bling beggar, was sitting alongside the road. As he was sitting there, he heard a crowd of people coming, and when he knew that Jesus was with them, he began to cry out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The people with Jesus started to sternly tell Bartimaeus to be quiet, but Bartimaeus would not be quiet and cried out louder than before by saying, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus then stops and says to the crowd, “Call him here.” The people then go to Bartimaeus with a different attitude this time and tell him, “Take courage, arise! He is calling for you.” Bartimaeus says, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” Jesus then says to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” The Bible says he immediately regained his sight and began following him on the road.

Try to picture this scene in your mind. Imagine for a minute you’re a bystander watching all of this unfold. Imagine a crowd coming and leading the way for Jesus, who is in the middle. Imagine everyone talking and carrying on, then out of the blue; you hear a man crying out for help. You then see people stepping out from the crowd coming, and they are telling this man sternly to be quiet. To them, maybe the thinking was they and Jesus were busy. After all, they were leaving town, and Jesus didn’t have time to help this man. Then this man begins to cry out even louder than the first time, and that’s when Jesus and everyone who was with Him stops walking. Everyone who was walking with Jesus was now being stopped because of this man. To this man who wouldn’t be quiet, Jesus says, “Call him here.” The people then, with a different attitude, tell this man, “Take courage, arise! He is calling for you.” Bartimaeus then throws off his coat, jumps up, and goes to Jesus. Jesus then, looking at him, asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” He simply answered, “I want to regain my sight.” At that moment, Jesus healed him, and Bartimaeus at that moment followed Jesus on the same road as the others were.

The man who was told by the crowd to have courage really had courage all along. He cried out for Jesus to help him, and because of his faith ad determination, he was healed. Another thing to remember about this story is Jesus, who, while busy at that moment, was not too busy to take time out of His schedule to heal this man because of His love for him.

I think everyone that day learned a very important lesson, which was Jesus is never too busy to help and heals anyone of His great love for them. The other thing I believed they learned was Jesus always hears us, even when He was like that day in a large crowd. Jesus may be hearing the prayers of millions, possibly billions every day, but He also specifically hears you, and your needs are important to him. He will meet your need no matter how big or small. All of us must be willing to ask Him for what we need and then allow our faith in Him to be what sets us apart. To also let Him work in our lives and see firsthand, like Bartimaeus, that He is never too busy for us- never! He loves us, and that is why he came to die on the cross for us in the first place.

From Gardens of Splendor by Gina Burns