29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Dear God, I’ve never understood why the crowd rebuked the two men. Were they embarrassed by them? Isn’t that why they were there—to have Jesus do something special for them too? Why try to shut these men up?
What these men realized is that they had hit the lottery and they were going to cash in their tickets. Of all the blind people born in all of the world in all of history, these two were in the right place at the right time. They are part of a select group that actually saw you, incarnate, walk by. They had a chance to talk to you and ask for your mercy in person. They were not going to let it pass.
Sometimes life takes courage. There are opportunities that come up that I am too often too intimidated or reluctant to take advantage of. One of my biggest weaknesses as a manager is that I avoid confrontation when an employee is doing something wrong. I try to coax and maneuver them into the behavior I desire, but sometimes there is a place for bluntness. I almost fired someone yesterday because something got to the point with them where their behavior was crossing a line. I had talked to them about it before, and they said they understood, but yesterday I was in a position where I was able to leave no doubt about what I expect. My regret is that I let it fester as long as I did. Frankly, it wasn’t fair to this employee that I hadn’t.
Father, there is an old hymn, “Spirit of the Living God, Fall Fresh on Me,” that ask you to, “Break me, mold me, fill me, use me…” I think I am good at breaking myself through my mistakes and failures. I pray that you will take the broken parts, mold me into your image, fill me with your Spirit, and use me however you will.
Emails to God 