The Future

What is coming? Peace is coming.

"Rabbi, I want to see."

Bartimaeus is Thankful. 

I read a post yesterday with this simple title. It really struck me how wonderful it would be to be remembered this way. What if, after all you or I have done or said or accomplished or failed at, this is what was said of us?

Mark 10:46-52

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, 

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. 

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Purity

sight

vision

I can see the riverbed 

clear like glass

cold

stones washed 

overflowing

rushing

unobstructed

unshackled

freedom from sorrow

innocence 

restored

life

breath hope

Words of Simeon

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

"Lord, 

now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

 according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation 

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.” 

Luke 2:29-32

Life

The desert was a deep prison. A blanket of darkness covered it in ways night could not. There was no light and no memory of it.

Her eyes shone a piercing shade of green, but they were covered by a thick fold of cloth. It meant to blind her, but could not. She saw with her spirit. A voice whispered to her. A presence led her. Now. This way. Go. Stand. Wait. She heard every word clearly. 

She stepped confidently and missed every landmine buried in the sand. Some by miles, others by an inch or less. It made no difference how close they were, she avoided them all. If she'd walked by sight she never would have made it. Only by faith could she navigate what was hidden right beneath her feet. 

Following the still small voice had taken her to the River of Life, a great roaring tumble of every ocean known to man, every creek and tear and sweat of the brow. It gathered like a storm and swept through the desert when its time came. The sand moved quickly. The water reshaped, pushed, and transformed it.

She watched as the landmines she'd slipped past were pulled to the surface by the rush of waves and piled up at the base of the river. They were pummeled relentlessly until each went off, one by one, and thousands all at once. They lit the night like the brightest day. Then every eye could see where they had been and what had taken place under the shroud of darkness. 

The desert swept away and life bloomed there. She thought it was beautiful and pulled the blindfold from her eyes.

Wave

A wave

Comes, making right what was wrong

Not with a flood

This one fulfills

Saturates

Softens dry ground

So what was planted can grow

It will be different

Wonderful

Can you imagine?

You won't have to try 

To see

For long

It's happening right now

We'll all see it

What Does This Mean to You?

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: 

not only because I see it, 
but because by it I see everything else."

C.S. Lewis