Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Christ who restores
And Jesus
said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man
said to him, "Rabbi, let me recover my sight." And Jesus
said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And
immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
There are car enthusiasts who take on a
rather daunting task of restoring an old vintage automobile. It would be
a car that was once pristine, beautiful, powerful, one of a kind, but has aged
badly, encountered damage, or simply fell apart. To restore that
old, beat up, dilapidated car is to bring it back to its former glory.
When Bartimaeus asked that he might
receive his sight, we do not know if he was blind from birth, or became blind
later in life, as the Greek text does not use words such as “regain” or
“restore”. Rather, it just says he wants to see. What we do
know is that Bartimaeus, and all humanity, were created to see. Humanity,
because of sin entering into the world, lost its luster. We were once a
wonderful creation, sinless and healthy. But sin destroyed this earth and
humanity. Disease, illness, violence, war, famine, and even blindness
have plagued humanity since that sin in Eden.
When Jesus healed Bartimaeus, Jesus
restored him. Bartimaeus was created to see, but due to some circumstance
as a result of humanity’s sinful condition, he was blind. Jesus restored
his sight to its intended glory.
We all fall short of the kind of human
we were created to be. You shouldn’t think just in terms of your physical
wellbeing. Look at your sinful heart. Look at the ways that sin has
destroyed your relationship with God and with others close to you. Look
at the ways you have hurt others. Look at the ways you have hurt
yourself. You’ve become beat up and dilapidated. You need Jesus to
restore you.
Jesus began his restoration of his
believers on the cross, by atoning for the sins that have destroyed our
race. Our relationship with God and with others should be restored
through Jesus. But the restoration process has only
begun. It won’t complete until Jesus comes again. It is only then
that we will be restored to our former glory.
Prayer: Lord, it is by faith in your
saving work that I may be restored to the human you created me to be.
Please continue that work until the day I die, that I may experience a fully
restored relationship with you, and with my neighbors. Amen
Thought for the day: share the hope of restoration found in
Jesus at the cross with others in need.
Rev. Alex Kolath, MTC, Baltimore