How do you respond when someone offends you? I'm big on respect and when I see blatant displays of disrespect it bends me all out of shape. Then there are times when someone may heap praise upon you when you weren't expecting it. Do you blush and become embarrassed or do you bathe in the limelight, soaking it all in?
How have you responded when you've gone through a life-changing event or experience? When I had my open heart surgery in 1996 to receive new heart valves, I was grateful to be alive and considered myself blessed to now have a heart that was healthy. My second oldest daughter Reynolds was born with what doctors told us was a blood clot in her brain. We and thousands of others prayed through the night and when the MRI was done again the next day there was no clot to be found. My response was one of utter joy and praise to God for healing my little girl.
If you've ever been through a similar life-altering event then you know what I'm talking about. Once the whole of who you are gets radically shaken up, your perspective can no longer be the same. You must respond. Some of you reading this might be thinking that you have yet to experience any earth-shattering life episodes, but if you are a follower of Christ I am here to tell you that you are mistaken in your assumption.
In Matthew 20:29-34 we come upon the story of two blind men who are waiting outside the walls of Jericho for sympathetic passerby's to flip them a few coins out of pity. These two men heard a commotion and, realizing that Jesus was the cause of it, began to call out His name as loud as they could. Jesus heard their cries and went to them, asking them what they wanted from Him. Without hesitation they told Him that they wanted their eyes opened so that they could see. Jesus then touched their eyes and their sight was immediately restored. I love their response in verse 34 - "and they followed Him."
These two men, when they cried out to Jesus, got not only physical healing but spiritual aid as well, for when they exercised their faith Jesus delivered. And their response was what our response should be: They followed Him. They weren't in it for the "fire insurance" or so that they could be a member in good standing on a church roll somewhere. These two men had their lives radically changed and in response did what to them seemed most logical - they followed the source of that change. Shouldn't we be following Jesus as hard as we know how since He is the one who has so radically changed our lives?
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