Jesus is all we need!

Luke 18:35-43

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” 42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.


Food for thought!


“What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”


We live in a society of almost infinite choices and opportunities, and because of that, most people find themselves pulled in dozens of directions. We are like Martha. She was too busy doing nothing; working a lot but getting so little. “Martha, Martha,” Jesus told her, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — indeed only one.” (Luke 10:41) Martha was blind to the one thing she needed.


In today's gospel reading Jesus asked the blind man what one thing he wanted to get from Jesus. I want to see! The blind man answered. I wonder what you would say! It must be ONE thing because wanting everything is wanting nothing. Chasing many rabbits at once is chasing none; aiming at many birds at once is aiming at none. Many people are aiming at too many things, at once. We do well to narrow our focus; our mind doesn't realize our dreams until it has clear objectives.
"God said to Solomon: 'Ask! What shall I give you?'" (I Kings 3:5).


What do you want Jesus to do for you? This one thing must be the mother of all you desires. Or you are blind to the one thing you really need? When and if you come to know your one thing, pursue it day and night. Don't let people distract you from getting it. Yes, some people may not help you in your pursuit of your dream. The people in the gospel reading told the blind man to be quite. 

This was a crucial moment. What will the man do? Shut up or shout up? Have you ever been like this man? You desire something very important in your life, or you have a dream, or a vision, or a deal or a business idea. As you try to turn it into a reality, you begin to hear counter voices all over suggesting that you forget and abandon the idea. Maybe you want to go back to school for a degree, or you want to stop smoking, or want to start a business, or change jobs, or...!


The man would not be silenced. He shouted again, this time louder; he screamed so much that everybody took notice, including Jesus. At that moment, the man's ONLY desire was to get to Jesus. Nothing would stop him. He refused to be silenced and he refused to be restrained. His sense of need drove him relentlessly into the presence of Jesus. And this all he wanted. With Jesus this man, who had been sitting everyday at the side of the road watching others, FOLLOWED JESUS like anybody else.


Like this man, JESUS is all we need in order to change!