As I continue re-reading the Book of Matthew, chapter 20 and verses 29-34 are impressed upon me. In this passage, Jesus is leaving Jericho, followed by a large crowd, when He encounters two blind men who are crying out to Him to have mercy on them. Although the crowd rebukes the men, trying to quiet them, they cry all the louder. Jesus then stops and asks them, "What do you want me to do for you?" The men ask for their sight to be restored, and Jesus, having compassion on them, grants their request.
Despite the crowd's attempts to "shush" the blind men and prevent them from disturbing Jesus, Jesus did some noteworthy things in response to the two men's cries:
1. HE STOPPED. Let's not underestimate the concern that is demonstrated when someone ceases all activity or drops what they are doing in order to give their full attention to someone else who has a need. By giving His full attention to these anguished men, Jesus was validating them as valuable and precious creations...human beings worth His time.
2. HE INQUIRED. By asking the question, "What do you want me to do for you," Jesus showed interest in understanding their situation and hearing their concerns.
3. HE SHOWED COMPASSION. Jesus allowed His heart to be moved by the plight of the men and He came to their aid.
One of the primary purposes of God's Word is to sanctify us - to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ, so that we might increasingly live holy and righteous lives. This is accomplished, in part, by supplying us with the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life and ministry, with particular emphasis on how He interacted with and invested in others. In today's focal passage, Jesus modeled for us what it looks like to take time for people (STOP), to understand their needs (INQUIRE), and to make one's self available to offer assistance (SHOW COMPASSION).
I'll share with you a recent example from my own experience. For several weeks, as I traveled my normal route to and from work, I intermittently saw a young woman at a busy intersection holding a sign asking for assistance, but I never took the time to stop or offer help, in part because the condition of our society breeds mistrust and we have developed a resultant mindset that it is better to mind our own business and "keep on trucking" rather than risk getting involved. But God repeatedly placed this woman on my mind and I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to learn her story. Not feeling well this week, I stayed home for a day and a half. Before I left home on the second day, I spent some time in the Word and, once again, God brought this woman to mind and told me I should stop the next time I saw her at the intersection. I took note of His prodding but quickly filed it away as I began to get ready for work.
By the time I was driving toward town, I had actually forgotten all about it, that is, until I reached the intersection. And there she was. And God's nudging from only an hour or so before flooded my mind. Now let me pause here to share with you that I am not the type of person who generally approaches strangers for any reason. By and large, it is contrary to my personality and my natural inclinations. So as I turned at the intersection, despite fully knowing this was an opportunity that the Lord was affording me, I immediately began thinking of all the reasons why stopping made no sense: I didn't feel well...I had already missed a day and a half of work and really just needed to get to the office...I was heading in the opposite direction...it wasn't a convenient or really even safe intersection to be pulling over and walking across the street...she may not even be on the "up and up"...maybe she was a scammer...maybe she wanted money to use for wrong things...and on and on it went in my mind, all within only a span of a few seconds. But as I continued heading toward my destination - perhaps only a quarter of a mile - I felt such a strong conviction of the Holy Spirit. Without further delay or rationalization, I turned around, drove back to the intersection, parked my truck, crossed the road, and approached the young woman. I introduced myself and told her I had passed her many times, always wondering what her story was but never stopping to ask. I explained that God had repeatedly brought her to my mind and had told me to stop. She shared her first name and her circumstances and, after a few minutes of conversation, I gave her some money.
I will interject that there have been many times both here at home and in my travels around the world that I have seen similar situations and many times I have passed people by, sometimes with regret but sometimes without a hint of conviction; at other times, I have given to them freely and without question. When I do give, there is still often a hesitancy about the honesty of the solicitor and what he or she really wants money for, but at the end of the day, if I help them monetarily, I trust that God will hold them accountable for any misuse of a gift intended for good. Even after we conversed, I still had no way of knowing for sure if this young woman was legitimate or if I was being taken advantage of. Perhaps as a wise steward I could have inquired of others first or conducted a deeper investigation before giving her money, and perhaps I might have done so under other circumstances, but I felt such a strong conviction of the Holy Spirit that this was the right thing to do and so I gave and I subsequently felt the type of peace that comes when you know for sure that you have been obedient to God's instruction.
I don't know what God will do with this story beyond where it currently stands, but I do know He has a purpose in all things. Hopefully it was intended as a positive impact on the young woman (before I left her, we briefly discussed church and at her own request). And maybe, just maybe...actually no maybe at all...I know without a doubt that part of God's purpose in this was to grow me as a believer. It took me out of my comfort zone, it taught me a lesson in obedience, and it showed me the importance and necessity of connecting with people if we are to emulate the outreach ministry of Jesus and impact lives.
"Jesus, thank You that You have demonstrated to us what it means to love others and to minister to them. Help us to not be dismissive of them or to rush through life seeing them as obstacles to be gotten around as we pursue our owns goals and agendas; rather, cause us to see them as You do. Help us to be sensitive to Your Spirit's leading and help us to be obedient when You call us to action. Grant us wisdom and discernment as we engage with others, but prevent our hesitancy and apprehensions from being like the crowd outside of Jericho that would hinder us from hearing the cries of those in need. As we prove faithful, grant us even more opportunities to STOP, INQUIRE, and SHOW COMPASSION. Amen."