was blind, but now...

Do you remember the last time you were blindfolded?

Being blindfolded requires a certain amount of trust of the people and environment around you, as well as a sharper use of your non-impaired senses.

I’m sure my last time blindfolded was sometime at camp this summer, playing a game or doing an activity. I had to trust my campers to lead me around and make sure I didn’t run into a tree.Potentially a scary thought, putting my trust in elementary or middle school children.

Have you ever actually been partially or fully blind, or known someone who is/was?

Can you imagine never having seen anything in your life?

This is the reality for many around the world for various different reasons.

This was the case of a blind beggar in Jesus’ time.

I took the opportunity once this summer to play the role of the blind beggar in the Christ Walk, our weekly Thursday-night worship service at Luther Park Bible Camp. Obviously as a sighted person, I couldn’t quite get the full effect, but it did give me a different perspective on the power of Jesus, both literally (of healing) and spiritually.

Let me set the scene for you:

A blind beggar sits outside nearby a group of other everyday people, seeking money and any way he could survive. Day after day, this man pleads for mercy from those around him, living on the streets and trying to get by in a world that doesn’t accept him.

I imagine the man having a sort of open glazed look in his eyes, so I look off into the distance, gaze unfocused. I was cut myself off from those around me because I “couldn’t see” them.

Then Jesus comes along.

I hear the others talking about Him and that He is coming by, so I cry out;

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“What is it that you want?” he replies.

I plead, “Teacher, let me see again.”

Jesus puts His hands over the man’s eyes—my eyes—then removes them.

“Go.”

For the first time in the beggar’s life, he could see. The first thing he saw: the face of his Savior.

That Thursday, when I refocused my blank gaze and saw the compassion in the face of our resident Jesus, I realized just how powerful this moment could have been for the real blind beggar.

I had technically still been able to see this whole time, but the beggar—nothing.

Never had he seen a thing…until that moment.

No wonder he went running off, praising God for His marvelous work and thrilled to see the beauty of creation around him.

There could have been no doubt in the mind of the beggar that this man was the Son of God.Who could need more proof that Jesus truly was and is the Messiah for all, especially the ill of health and heart?

A lot of people, especially those who don’t have the experience going from such darkness into light, cannot fathom for themselves how much of an impact Jesus made for this man.

What did the bystanders think? We can only wonder. Perhaps they were skeptical, thinking that the man still couldn’t see and had prearranged with Jesus to put on this show. Others might have thought it was the work or sorcery or magic. Many, maybe including the Pharisees, saw it, did not believe it, and refused to accept any meaning from it. Hopefully at least a few found comfort in finally seeing the Messiah, the Deliverer in action.

Consider the blindman’s faith. How could he have known that Jesus would have the power to heal him? Word of Jesus’ ministry spread quickly, I’m sure. The blindman probably figured he had nothing left to lose—the worst that could happen would be no sight, and he already had that.Though he could never see any hard evidence of Jesus’ work, he believed.

How often do we believe without seeing? How much faith do we have in our Savior? When must we believe even when we cannot see the outcome?

What do you think? Had you been a witness of this miracle, would you have believed it? Had you been the blindman, how would you have responded to the man who gave you what you had been missing all these years?

How do we respond to the man who frees us from sin and gives us life?

I once was lost, but now I’m found

Was blind, but now I SEE!