“And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God.” Luke 18:43
Approaching 3:30 am. Another wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night time with the Lord. I could have really used the sleep. I was in a season of rest and preparation according to God. There I was again, so needing more sleep, but too awake to crawl back into bed yet. I ended up studying and writing. Then came the voice. God’s. Speaking to my heart. I was not all awake, not all asleep. Awake enough to hear Him.
“What did the two men have in common?” I heard God’s Spirit ask.
Huh? God? The two men? The two men I had just read about in His Word in Luke 18. The rich man who wouldn’t give up his riches to be saved and follow Christ. The blind man who was miraculously given his sight who became a devoted Christ follower. What did they have in common? Seriously? I was supposed to figure that out? At not even 3:30 am? Half asleep? Not exactly. See, God promises His Holy Spirit will teach His followers. And so He does. The answer to God’s question about the men came quickly. What did the blind man and the rich man have in common?
- They both encountered Jesus Christ
- They both interacted and conversed with Him
- They both had a great need
- They both made an indescribably big sacrifice
The blind man who was miraculously given his sight by Jesus Christ sacrificed living a selfish, fleshly, self-centered, self-serving, self-consumed life to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in intimate fellowship with Him. When he got his sight, he chose to follow Jesus! The rich man sacrificed following Christ, a personal relationship with Him, and his salvation and eternity in heaven to follow the world and live a life of self and wealth and worldly living. The blind man knew he needed Jesus. The rich man believed he needed riches, self and the world. The blind man who could see again placed his trust in Jesus. The rich man placed his trust in self, riches, and this world. Both made an unbelievable sacrifice. The blind man gave up self for Jesus and eternity. The rich man gave up Jesus and eternity for self. We are no different. We all need Jesus. We all must decide to turn from our sins and sacrifice self to follow Christ or sacrifice Christ and eternity for fleeting riches and worldly pleasure and hell and the lake of fire forever apart from God. Please read Luke 18. Please make a decision accordingly. Oh, live for Christ! Repent & follow Him forever!