I always enjoy having a new thought about a familiar story. You know, a story we’ve read over and over in the Bible. I was reading a study in the book of Mark a few weeks ago and came across the story about the healing of the blind man. In the devotion, we read the passage and then the author touched on a few points in the story. One of those points was the importance of the man’s cloak.
Mark 10: 46-52
46 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. 47 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!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 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.” 52 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.
For that man, the cloak was his source of shelter and wellbeing. Beggars would lay their cloaks out in front of them to gather coins from people passing by. It was their shelter from the sun and rain. The passage tells us that when Jesus called him, he threw off his cloak and came to Jesus. It doesn’t say that he gathered his cloak and belongings and meandered toward Jesus. He sprang up! Left it all behind him. What faith!
Are you ready to leave your shelter and comfort behind when Jesus calls? It’s a humbling thought, isn’t it? Surrendering our lives to Jesus sometimes comes at the cost of giving up our earthly belongings, but He is calling us to so much more!
