WHO ARE YOU?
Matthew 12:22-23 Then He was brought one blind and mute afflicted, and He healed him so that the mute to speak and to see.
And all the crowds were amazed, and they said, “Surely then this fellow is the son of David
Sometimes I wonder if it isn’t better for the speaking to shut their mouths and for the seeing to close a blind eye to the world they live in. Scripture says in James that the tongue is the one thing that mankind cannot tame. People use fifty words to say five and exhaust the oxygen for the rest of us. And what about the dichotomy that parents work so hard to help their child speak and then work so hard later to keep that pontificating child to be quiet.
Silence is the new ‘music.’ Simon and Garfunkel were really on to something so many decades ago…’listen to the sound of silence.’ And is it not better to be in the dark than to be under the constant barrage of social media’s decadence or the tantalizing and tempting top-shelves that cause one to steal from the heavenly treasure store?
When is contentment enough? When will five words be sufficient? When will life’s worries, riches and pleasures stop choking and consuming?
The Crowds of Jesus’ day saw the miracles and wanted more. They hit the Jackpot; the Motherload. Surely, they found their prize. No small wonder, then, that when they learned the prize came with a one-size-fits-all cross-shaped lifestyle of Humility and Sacrifice, they stopped walking with Jesus… the fish sandwich lost its appeal. They could always find another vendor.
The Health and Wealth gospel so criticized by the evangelicals is not as isolated as they might think. Isn’t the general ‘believing’ population in a constant state of prayer requests for healing, not knowing that suffering is theological method for spiritual development? (Romans 5:3)
Are believers really giving sacrificially to the heavenly treasure store, or do they leave enough behind in the ‘riches and pleasures’ reserve? A refresher course in ‘he renounced himself’ as a requirement for disciple-training school (Matthew 16:24) may be in order. But remember, that condition is only for those who want to come behind Jesus.
Scripture offers many names for Jesus: Son of God, Son of Mankind, Son of David, and many others. But Scripture leaves an open-ended contingency for each and every person to decide what title goes on the I.D. badge. Jesus knows who He is; the question is, do you?
