A Lesson On The Use Of Power

I am sitting here meditating on the 'use of power' and the 'leveraging of advantage' and my studies brought me to this passage.

"And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 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!' And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' And Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him.' And they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.' And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, 'What do you want me to do for you?' And the blind man said to him, 'Rabbi, let me recover my sight.' And Jesus said to him, 'Go your way; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way." - Mark 10:46-52 ESV

Bartimaeus best power was his voice and his perseverance. We could even say that his voice was a tool to be used by his perseverance and that perseverance was his power. Listen to his words and what he asks for. He is looking to 'recover his sight'. That isn't passive. It is like he saying to Jesus, 'My sight is right there but it is just out of my reach. You can reach that far and hand it to me so I can use it again. Let me have it back so I can use it.' Then when Jesus did give it to him Bartimaeus used a new tool to follow Christ.

The disciples tried to use their power to maintain the status quo. They wanted quiet. They didn't want any trouble. They wanted to prevent something instead of see something happen. Blind Bartimaeus had faith but this situation revealed a lack of faith in the disciples.

Then we look at Jesus. He is a true leader. He has and executes what fictional leaders lack. I fear that our young people are learning leadership from movies, television and games and it is dangerous because they see results that are contrived and straw man (a weakened version of a person set up only so it can be shot down) competition that causes difficulties in life because real interactions won't follow the fictional model.

Jesus doesn't just heal Bartimaeus. He corrects His disciples and lets them do what we are to do also. We bring people to the King. We communicate the love of the King.

I like how Jesus says, 'Go your way.' to Bartimaeus. That is grace isn't it? Jesus gives this man what was out of reach and also gives him liberty. Bartimaeus decides that 'his way' will be to follow Jesus. If the disciples had their way he would still be blind but begging quietly.

How will we see disruption? Is it a problem to be prevented or is it an opportunity for redemption?

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