Day 295

         The theme this week is grace.  And as you may be able to tell, I had the lyrics to the wonderful hymn, Amazing Grace, running through my head as I wrote these devotional thoughts for you this week.  Grace is a multi-faceted concept in Scripture and I hope that you thoroughly enjoy considering how God’s grace impacts our lives, both as human beings in children and redeemed members of God’s family.  

Matthew 20:1-34; Mark 10:32-52; Luke 18:31-19:27.  “Spiritually Blind”

         “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see” – Amazing Grace
         The beggar Bartimaeus received the gift of sight in today’s reading.  While Mark is the only gospel that names the beggar, all three of them consistently show that the original request was for mercy.  Why the connection between mercy and the receiving of sight?  I think it is because the healing not only involved a physical need, but a spiritual one as well. 
         Without God’s intervention in our lives, we are spiritually blind and lack an awareness of our sin and we do not see our need for God.  Until the Holy Spirit opens ones’ eyes to his or her spiritual need, they will not come to God for forgiveness and grace.
         In His ministry, Jesus restored physical sight, but more importantly, He also restored spiritual sight.  The Spirit continues on in this ministry, and our role is to direct those in whom the Spirit is working to the light of Christ that they might follow him as did Bartimaeus.

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?