In today’s post, we’ll take a few brief moments to look into the hearts of two blind men. But we are not going to focus on their blindness. We’re not going to focus on a miracle that Jesus performs. We’re not going to make a spiritual truth about being blind, yet seeing or seeing, yet being blind.
In today’s post, we’re going to focus on the heart. And this focus should hit each of us squarely between the eyes. For the heart has nothing to do with physical sight. A blind man can have a good heart or a bad heart. The same is true of a man who can see. But I found two men I want to look at this morning and compare their hearts, for their hearts are distinctly opposed to each other.
The first man- or more accurately- men of Sodom. You remember the story. God had just pronounced judgment on this wicked city for sins that go far beyond the sexual perversion as we read in Isaiah. But nonetheless, we see a picture of their heart played out in that sexual perversion. The angels who came to rescue Lot were in his house and the men of Sodom come calling…
“And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” (Genesis 19:5 ESV).
You know the story. The men insist that Lot send these men out so they can rape them. Lot, in an act I am convinced deserves no praise whatsoever, offers his daughters to them, but they refuse.
“But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down.” (Genesis 19:9 ESV).
Well, the angels rescue Lot for the first time this night by striking these men with blindness. You would think that this act of judgment would give pause to the evil who received it. But their heart was corrupt and even an act of God did not sway them from their evil ways:
“And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.” (Genesis 19:11 ESV).
The other man we look at lived thousands of years later during the time our Lord walked upon the earth. His name was Bartimaeus. Though blind, he had a heart that was in tune to the things of God. How do we know? Because when the Messiah passed by, he was keenly aware of who this Man was. His heart was opened to the things of God that his ears heard. The result:
“And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47 ESV).
The people rebuked him, yet this blind man was not deterred:
“And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48 ESV).
His persistent heart paid off. Jesus called to him and asked him what he wanted. Because of his heart, this man went away seeing.
So, let’s compare these two blind men. But let’s focus on the lessons of the heart that they had, not their lack of sight. For it is in the lessons of the heart that we all will learn what we need to take away.
1. Our heart is not dependent on our circumstances. Sure, our circumstances can influence our heart, but whether it is whole or impure is up to us. Blindness had little to do with the heart of these two men. So, it is with us. If we have a bad heart in our circumstance, our heart is bad in spite of what we are dealing with. It is a grave mistake to link the two, which will ultimately lead us down a road of excusing our bad heart rather than focusing on mending it with the help of the Savior.
2. Our heart will help us seek the Truth or seek the sin we crave. In the days of Lot, these blind men groped for their perversion. With Bartimaeus, he groped after the Savior. Even when rebuked by society, he beat down the door to reach Jesus.
3. Our heart will either call “Good” good and “Evil” evil, or it will call what is “Good” evil and what is “Evil” good. The men of Sodom cast reproach on Lot and accused him of evil. They said that he was a foreigner who wanted to be a judge over them. But Bartimaeus saw Jesus who he was- “Jesus- Son of David!” Seeing what they chose to see had little to do with the eyes and everything to do with the heart.
It is our heart that we need to focus on. We will give ourselves all kinds of excuses to endure with a bad heart if that is what we truly want. Even when we suffer consequences for our sins, a bad heart will point the finger of blame elsewhere and we can find ourselves continuing to blindly grope after our sins.
Or we can have a heart that is pure, created anew by the Lord to seek after His way. It will cause us to call out to Jesus, Son of David, for help. It will seek when all around us command us to be silent. It will cause us to beat upon the door until the Savior answers. It is this good and honest heart that will accept the seed of the Word and plant it, cultivate it and let it transform us into the image of His dear Son.
But our heart is ours to cultivate. Good or bad- it is our choice.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 ESV).
As a nation, we are walking away from God. We make arguments as to why He does not exist.
We dethrone Him from our hearts. We take up evil with no thought that One is watching and One will judge.
Those who acknowledge God take heed: Follow the ones who deny God and be found guilty with them when judgements come.
Or stay true to what you know to be true: there is a God in heaven who reigns over all.
Follow Him even if all turn from Him and laugh in His face. The day is coming when that face will bring terror or deliverance.
“To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?
There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge. Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.” (Psalm 14:1-7 ESV).
“Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” (Psalm 26:2 ESV).
Have we prepared our hearts and our paths to say this to the Lord today?
Without pain, there is no ease.
Without fear, there is no rescue.
Without trouble, there is no deliverance.
Without falling, there is no lifting up.
Too often, we measure God’s goodness in how He keeps evil from befalling us. We experience a problem or hurt and think that God must not be with us.
But it is not in the trials we face that we see God. It’s in the deliverance; in the endurance; in the results we gain from those things we must experience. It’s in looking back and seeing that He was with us.
I love this passage from Psalm that I read in my daily Bible reading today. It helps me keep perspective:
“The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24 ESV).
God will not keep us from falling, but He will keep the fall from destroying us.
If we delight in His way, God will establish our steps.
This is all about trust when we walk in the painful, scary paths of life. We walk through whatever we must face knowing the Lord has our hand and whatever happens, we are not alone. He will deliver in His way and in His time.
So, we walk knowing He is by our side.
I am in the Psalm in my daily reading. One of the most beloved is the 51st Psalm, where David pleads with the Lord to create in him a clean heart. It’s a beloved Psalm because it is one we can all identify with.
How many times have we sinned and felt the weight bear down upon us? How many times, in regret and sorrow, do we relive that moment over and over, wishing that we could have the chance to do it all over again?
Having a heart cleansed by God is our new beginning. It is the answer to our prayer that we are not irredeemably broken; that there is hope for us even when we fall short of God’s glory. Listen to the words of David and see if you can identify with him:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:10-12 ESV).
One of my take-aways as the Spirit bathes me in comfort with these words is this: A clean heart is available for all who earnestly seek after it. There is no sin that makes us irredeemable.
But I must seek after it.
God will not force a clean heart upon me.
God will not give it to me while I pursue my own way.
I must be driven by godly sorrow and not only seek after a clean heart, but also ready to accept it when the Lord answers my prayer. When He wipes the iniquity from me, I will live in the joy of His salvation.
My spirit will let His Spirit find a home in me. I will prepare myself for the Lord to answer my plea for a new heart.
And when cleansing comes, I will hang on to the Spirit so that He will not depart from me.
This is more than just forgiveness; it is the ability to put the guilt I feel away from me as the Lord cleanses me. It is having a heart that sorrow has tendered to help guard against the fall again because I, with my newly cleansed heart, am living in that 2nd chance I longed for; my chance to do it all over again.
This is the prayer of one who walks with the Lord. One who, when he stumbles, stands to continue his walk. One who does not walk away from the Lord, but longs to be cleansed from iniquity and to continue living in the Lord.
Noah looked foolish when he built the boat.
Noah's message was the same warning, decade after decade with no indication that his warning had teeth.
Noah probably had to have some tough discussions during family dinner time.
But we know that Noah looked a lot smarter when the rain started.
Perhaps his respect skyrocketed with his children when the thunder rolled in.
In the end, all who mocked were silenced and Noah was the last man standing.
When people mock the godly lifestyle you live…
When people laugh when you turn off the TV as people use the Lord's name in vain or participate in coarse jesting…
When you endure the tough conversations around the dinner table with your children about why we are different…
Ask yourself, when you are among the last men standing, will all you endure really seem that awful?
“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37
There once was a sweet old grandmother who loved her family more than anything. She made sure that her children and grandchildren knew that her house was always opened to them.
When they showed up, it pleased her to no end to feed them sumptuously; to slave over a hot stove to provide meals seasoned with her love.
She made a habit of leaving her house unlocked so that if her family showed up unexpectedly and she happened to be out, they could enter to the warmth and safety of her home until she returned.
One day, after spending the day out shopping, she came home to find her grandson in her house. He had brought a female friend and it was apparent they had engaged in behavior she found appalling.
They were sitting on the couch half-dressed and taking drugs together. The grandmother was heartbroken. Her grandchildren knew her rules and knew how she felt about such behavior.
When she entered the house, her grandson rose to greet her with a hug and a kiss, but she took a step back. Looking at him and then to his female friend, she said, “I'd like you two to leave right now.”
Taken aback, he said in a curious voice, “I don't understand, Grandma. You said we were always welcomed.”
“You always are welcome, Grandchild, and I open all that I have to you. But you cannot come into my home and disrespect me and all that is important to me.”
“But Grandma,” he protested, “if you really love me, you'll accept me the way I am.”
“If you really love me,” she replied, “then you will accept my grace and love with thankfulness and with the respect I deserve from you.” She continued, “My grandchild, I offer you everything I have. It brings me joy to provide for you. I never keep a ledger of what I give you.”
The grandson rolled his eyes but remained silent as she went on. “All I have I want you to have. But you cannot accept my grace and disregard what is important to me. When you come into my home and engage in sexual behavior and use my home to take illegal drugs, and do it all with utter disregard to me, it is not me who doesn't love- it's you.”
The inebriated grandson turned to his friend and giggled. “Okay, okay. Whatever. I'm sorry. I promise not to do these things in front of you again.”
He reached for a lighter and his drugs. Before lighting it, he looked at his grandmother. “Do you mind leaving while we finish this?”
The grandmother had a tear roll down her cheek and she embraced her grandson. “How I love you so much. But as long as you choose to not follow the rules I have set out, you are not welcome in my home. Please leave now.”
The grandson's giggles slowed and he looked at her quizzically. “You're serious, aren't you?”
“I'm afraid I am.”
The quizzical look soured to indignation. “Fine. I'll leave! You're just a liar anyway. You said you love me, but no loving grandma would throw me out because I'm not exactly the way you want me to be. That's not unconditional love! He turned to his friend. “Get dressed and let's go!”
The two gathered their clothes and their drugs. With contempt in his eyes, he turned to the grandmother who had opened her home to him anytime he needed it, who had fed him whenever he was hungry, who had given him shelter whenever he had no place to go, and he said to her...
“When you decide to accept me for who I am, I'll come back. But as long as you cannot love unconditionally, I'll never step foot into your house again.”
The grandson stormed off, swearing under his breath never to return to such an evil and unloving person again.
The grandmother took a few moments to wrestle with the grief in her heart. Then, she stood and prepared a place for her grandson in case he repented and returned to her home again. She made sure her pantry was stocked with the food he loved.
And she waited for his return. She sat next to the window, watching every day for him to walk up her pathway to her door. She longed to run out to meet him and fall on his neck in love.
She knew he might not see the tremendous love she had for him, but just because her grandson didn't see the love, it didn't mean it wasn't there.
She would always be there waiting, with her door unlocked to him when he chose to repent and return.
Sometimes it's easier to understand how we should treat the ones we can see than it is the One who we can't see. We would never disrespect a loving, selfless grandmother, but how many times do we treat God the way that this grandson treated his grandmother?
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 ESV).
Tomorrow is the first day of the week. Could this be the week that God has marked on His calendar to send His Son back to earth?
It's an exciting thought, isn't it?
“He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20 ESV).
Is God a god or is He my God?
Is Jesus a king or is He My King?
Is God a creator or is He my Creator?
Is Jesus a savior or is He my Savior?
Is God a deliverer or is He my Deliverer?
Is Jesus a judge or is He my Judge?
Yes, He is A....
We will do well if He is also ours....
Sometimes we confuse God’s chastisement with God’s judgment. Both come from God and both are meant to bring His hand against us. But each has a different purpose.
God’s chastisement is given to those whom the Lord loves in an attempt to wake up His erring child and to humble him and bring him back home with God.
“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:6 ESV).
But when we talk about God’s judgment, we are talking about God bringing punishment upon someone when His patience with them has come to an end. Ultimately, His final judgment will happen at the end of time.
But God will sometimes bring His judgment upon us to bring an end to evil. God is in control of all things and we see many examples when God steps up and stops someone from continuing to act in evil.
Sometimes chastisement and judgments are directed at individuals and sometimes they are directed at a nation. But here is what we need to keep in mind:
God will often send His chastisement upon people or nations to guide them away from evil. But there will come a time when He turns people who do not respond to His chastisement over to their own willfulness. This is a very dangerous place to be. When God stops chastising us and lets us continue in our own way, judgment is the final response He has when a rebellious heart goes too far.
When is that line drawn? How “bad” does bad have to be before God brings about His judgment? We do not- cannot- know. That is solely up to God in His sovereignty.
The answer for us is to respond in repentance if we are in sin and feel the loving chastisement of God upon us; strip rebellion away from us and humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God.
We need to thank God for His loving chastisement and fear God’s wrath and judgment.
And if we should make it through life in rebellion and never face His judgment this side of eternity, remember, God is not mocked. Judgment is coming upon those who do not acknowledge God and live under His rule.