LEARNING DAILY

Mark 8:22-25, Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everything clearly.

When Jesus asked the man what he saw, the man replied that he saw “men like trees walking”. His eyes had been opened but he did not see clearly. He saw but like he had some sort of film over his eyes. He could see and that was a blessing. This was different than other miracles of Jesus. The wine, when tasted was the best. The servant of centurion was dying, and Jesus healed him from a distance. Other blind men were able to see right away. Jesus heals the way He knows to be best.

The man could see but certainly not as well as he had hoped. He could not tell if what he saw were trees or men. What he saw was walking; it was obvious that what he saw was not trees. But by eyesight he could not tell. It was not until the Lord Jesus puts His hands on the man’s eyes again that his sight was restored and he saw clearly.

The Bible does not tell us why this total restoration of the man’s eyesight did not occur right away. Perhaps it was a lesson for His disciples and every Believer who has begun their journey on the narrow way to God’s kingdom. The disciples were beginning to see Jesus for who He is – the Son of God. The work of Jesus often confused them; they could see just as the blind man but not nearly as clearly as they should. This idea can easily be expanded to Believers today. Every Believer has come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior; knowing Him as their Lord takes a lifetime as His word is read/studied/ meditated on and then applied each day to our walk on the narrow way.

Consider this quote from the writings of Charles Spurgeon. “A man is still pitifully blind if he doesn’t care whether he sees more or not.” Walking on the narrow way is the process of sanctification or the process of being made pure to enter the Kingdom of God. It is the process of getting rid of the worldliness in our life and becoming who God wants us to be. It is the time when Believers are growing conscious of their own deficiencies/ignorance and are growing in spiritual wisdom. Will you agree that it is a time when we “hunger and thirst after God’s kingdom and His righteousness”!

The time of salvation may be a time when we see but not as clearly as we do after walking the narrow way for a while. During that time the Believer has spent time building a relationship with Jesus, understanding what it means to be fully dependent on Him. That is done by studying His character, having a greater desire to be in fellowship with Him through prayer, and seeking to know Him through spending more time with Jesus means clearer and clearer sight.

When Jesus touched the man the second time, He instructed him to look up. As we spend more time in God’s Word and in prayer the emphasis is to look to God and not to ourselves. Do not be satisfied with just being saved; look to Jesus to understand Him because that understanding will help you know the assurance of who you have in Him. This walk of faith on a narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom is one that produces a gradual change in each Believer; let the Holy Spirit work in your life, as a Believer, changing you day by day!