Bartimaeus And The Mercy Of God

In this blogpost we will go into the way Jesus our Lord reacts to people’s needs and problems. What is mercy? What is love?

Let’s take, for example, blind Bartimaeus. We are not told how long he has suffered from his blindness. I could suppose he has been blind since the day of his birth. Or probably something has happened to him? Sometimes in moments like this people ask: “Where is God? He has surely forgotten about me…” Even believers are tempted to think in a similar manner. Bartimaeus has heard of Jesus. He has heard that the One called the Son of God could heal him. He could open not only his physical eyes. He could open his spiritual eyes as well. And yet, isn’t that much more important?

When people pray for mercy, they have realized that something has gone wrong with their lives. Something has gone wrong with their personal and spiritual walking. They realize they miss something, without knowing what it is exactly. A day comes, when they meet someone who is different in their eyes. This is the person who has told them the Good News. It’s full of words of hope, love and trust. But salvation is the greatest thing that is included in the living words of the Gospel. I remember what we read in Matthew 16:26:

“For what profit has a man, if he gets all the world with the loss of his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?” (Bible in Basic English)

Winning the whole world is not a sign of eternity. It is just a tiny bit of it. As if Bartimaeus has nearly succeeded in attracting the world towards his need of physical sight.

But if you ask me about my opinion concerning his real motive to shout out loud Jesus’ name, I would reply in a different manner from the one that’s expected. He just wanted to know Jesus. I even think that physical sight was the last thing he was yearning for. When the Lord asked him: “What would you have me do for you?”, he knew he would like to have sight. That was his physical need. But his spiritual need was much more essential. I even believe that he, like Legion, the man who was set free from tens of demons, was tempted to go after Jesus. Not because of His miracles and wonders, but because of His loving heart. If Jesus comes today on earth, won’t we be happy to know Him more?

Some people have used to worship a deity that they can see, feel and hear directly. But very often God is so close, so invisible and secret, that it’s hard to know He is nearby. Nevertheless, these are the moments He is at the closest distance to us. It is not a physical intimacy, but a spiritual one. Have you seen a visible spirit?

The truth is that God speaks to us by using circumstances, events and meetings. Every person could be an instrument in His hands. He could even use an unbeliever who has a heart of stone, and it would be for His purposes. Very often we limit Him, which is one of the most terrible mistakes made by us daily. He gets hurt by that, but His love remains the same. So won’t you trust Him today?

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• Apostle Paul Introduction
• Saint Constantine the Great
• Saint George and the Dragon
• Introducing Saint Anthony the Great