Under Construction

The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

Psalm 138:8

She looked at all she had accomplished up to this point.  She saw the plaques and awards.  She saw the newspaper clippings and the certificates.  She saw them exactly for what they were...mere moments in time...and she wept because she knew there had to be more to life than a pile of memorabilia.  

Think about how may times you have seen someone's name on a highway or a road or some monument and you have NO idea who that person could possibly be (and probably aren't exactly too concerned about the fact you don't know them).  Old black and white photos with no name on them smiling back as if they should be familiar, yet we have no clue.

If you feel there's more to life than mere externals, then you are correct.  Life is not about the monuments or awards or trappings of fame.  Life is about moments!  Those moments when you know you are loved.  Those moments when you realize that you can help someone who needs help.  Those moments when you are terrified to say anything so you say nothing, yet your presence is what the person in crisis remembers and appreciates!

You see, God plans our lives to be moments! And more moments are coming your way, because you are still under His construction!

Carpe Momentum

They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many scolded him to get 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 the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.” He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.
~Mark 10:46-52

Okay, okay.....today's passage is a little bit longer than the others, but there's a reason for that.  

Bartimaeus was blind.  Every morning, he would find his way to his spot where he would spend his day calling out to passersby for the things he needed to survive another day (food, water, money).  Day after day he would do this.  And this day had begun just like every other day, so he went through the motions...just like every other day.  

Then he heard a crowd coming.  He heard the name of Jesus.  He had heard of Jesus and the miracles He could do.  And Bartimaeus KNEW that THIS was the moment he had to grab!  THIS was the moment he had been waiting his entire life to arrive.  THIS was the moment!  So he began to call out to Jesus....And he kept calling.  People who were part of the "in" crowd told him to shut up, because a celebrity like Jesus had to time for a blind beggar nobody like Bartimaeous.

But Bartimaeus knew THIS was his opportunity.  So he called out even louder: "SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!"  You'd think with all the crowd noise Jesus wouldn't be able to hear one person's voice above the others.  But, like the woman who worked her way through the crowd to just touch the hem of His cloak, Jesus knew and heard Bartimaeous' cry for mercy. And called for Bartimaeus to come to Him....Notice that Jesus didn't go to Bartimaeus but called for Bartimaeus to come to HIM.

It's also interesting that the Scripture is very specific to tell us that Bartimaeous threw off his cloak before coming to Jesus.  His cloak was, most likely, his only possession of any value.  It was a blanket at night against the cold and protection from the sun during the day. Yet when Jesus called, Bartimaeus threw it aside to come to Jesus.

Then Jesus, KNOWING that Bartimaeus was blind, asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"  Why would Jesus ask this?  Bartimaeus could have asked for ANYTHING at this point, and I believe Jesus would have given it to him.  Bart could have asked for a endless wealth and a host of servants to cater to his every whim so it wouldn't have to do anything for himself. He could have....but Bart KNEW this was the moment he had to choose wisely.  So he told Jesus, "I want to see."  And in that moment....the moment that Bartimaeus had been waiting for all his life....he could see!

When we cry out to Jesus, do we expect Jesus to come wave a wand over us and POOF we get what we want?  Or do we hear Him call to us and ask us 'What do you want Me to do for you'?  

Are we willing to throw off the things WE hold precious so we can come to Jesus or do we want to hang on to them because they are more precious?

Jesus reminds us to SEIZE THE MOMENT!  Don't wait!  

Moments

Then they came to the city of Jericho. When He was leaving the city with His followers and many people, a blind man was sitting by the road. He was asking people for food or money as they passed by. His name was Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. He heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He began to speak with a loud voice, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me!” Many people spoke sharp words to the blind man telling him not to call out like that. But he spoke all the more. He said, “Son of David, take pity on me.” Jesus stopped and told them to call the blind man. They called to him and said, “Take hope! Stand up, He is calling for you!” As he jumped up, he threw off his coat and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Lord, I want to see!” Jesus said, “Go! Your faith has healed you.” At once he could see and he followed Jesus down the road.

~Mark 10:46-52 

Moments.  Think about this!  Our lives are made up of moments.  Every photograph we take is merely a moment in time.  Every memory is of a moment in time.  

      * I don't remember being born; 

      * I can barely remember this morning;  

      * I do remember the moment my daughter was born. 

      * I have lots of pictures of friends and moments spent with them.

      * I remember the face of my first girlfriend (3rd grade. She gave me a baseball sized wad of Plasti-Tack and that won me over).

I recently took time to look back through my high school yearbook from my senior year.  WOW! And we thought we were on the cutting edge of awesome.  Then I started reading the comments people wrote in my yearbook....many of them were the cliche: "Have a great summer" and "Don't ever change" written by people in a hurry and who didn't know me all that well (or found me annoying but wanted to appear to be nice).  But then there were the people who wrote about specific moments in our friendship. Like when we rode innertubes down the Saluda River, or when we pulled a prank that backfired and ended up squishing into the midnight movies because we were soaked from head to toe.  And then there were some that we won't discuss.

But each represents a moment in life.  A memory.  I am convinced that, while we live in a continuum, our minds work on a stream of moments.  

Think about Jesus' ministry.  The writers of the Gospels captured moments in Jesus' life.  Look at today's passage...Bartimaeus was blind.  During this time in history, if you were different from everyone else, you were thought to be cursed by God.  Bart was blind, so he must have been cursed by God and he lived each day going through the same motions of the only job available to him which was begging.  Then Jesus comes along.  Bart hears the crowds of people and probably believes that a lot of people in a group could mean he could get a little extra from begging.

THEN Bart hears someone in the crowd say that Jesus is in the crowd.  So Bart has a quick decision to make, he can continue to live his life as a blind beggar or he can seize the moment and see if Jesus really can help him.  So Bart takes his moment and starts to yell at the top of his lungs calling for Jesus to take pity on him and help him.  Now, some of the crowd want Bart to shut up and not interfere with this great teacher, because Jesus has "more important" things to attend to than a God-cursed-blind-beggar. BUT Jesus stops!  He tells those close to Bart to bring him over, which they do.  Then Jesus asks Bart what he wants.  

Again, Bart has a choice to make.  Again, Bart seizes the moment and tells Jesus that he wants to see.  Jesus, in that moment, heals Bart and in that moment removes Bart excuse to continue expecting others to care for him.  In a moment! 

Our lives are made up of moments! Bart seized his and made it count.  Will You?