Genesis 10:1 - Is it the end?

Genesis 10:1.  Even after the catastrophic flood--which changed the world--life did not come to an end. The end belongs to the providence of God. What belongs to people living is a responsibility before God to give thanks for the life that was passed to us, and to accept our responsibility to act in a way that will bless those who live into the future beyond us. Although we cannot determine what others will do, let us who believe do all within our power to leave the world a better place for the future.

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A friend, Frank Johnson, gave a talk one Sunday night years ago at Memorial Baptist Church in which he made reference to the writings of the son of Adoniram Judson. The son wrote that anyone who is prospering today can look back and see that his or her prosperity (spiritual not just financial) is tied to the suffering of someone who went before us. Likewise, when we suffer we can know that God will redeem our suffering in order to bless someone who comes after us. This understanding of the connection between generations and between people living in community is biblical. There is a corporate identity in the Bible that westerners sometimes miss with our individualism. This corporate identity is the basis of Christian humanitarianism. 

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There was a time in English villages when a bell would toll from the church to announce news of the death or near death of someone in the community. John Donne (1571-1631) wrote a devotional about the bell that tolls.

Now, this Bell tolling softly for another, saies to me, Thou must die.

    Perchance hee for whom this Bell tolls, may bee so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; And perchance I may thinke my self so much better than I am, as that they who are about mee, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for mee, and I know not that . . . .As therefore the Bell that rings to a Sermon, calls not upon the Preacher only, but upon the Congregation to come; so this Bell calls us all: but how much more mee, who am brought so neere the doore by this sicknesse . . . . No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were; Any Mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

(Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, 1624), Meditation 17.

Mark 10:46-52 Healing Faith

Mark 10:52    “Your faith has healed you.”

Some of the dearest, most faithful Christians I have known died prematurely. I know they were people of faith who prayed. I know that many, many fellow believers prayed for them. Yet, they were not healed in the way we wanted. Healing faith is not a possession that we can claim for our own. Healing comes as the providence of God orders, and such healing always has a purpose in addition to the relief from suffering. All true faith rests in God’s purposes whether the end is physical healing or not. True faith is the faith that brings reconciliation and discipleship. True faith prays with Jesus under the shadow of the cross, “Thy will be done.”

Bartimaeus was in the right place at the right time. Jesus passed by the intersection where he was sitting. It could have happened that Jesus went in a different direction or that Jesus passed by when Bartimaeus was not present. The encounter between Bartimaeus and Jesus was a gift. It was not a right or the end of good planning, and it was not chance either. In God’s providence it was meant to be.

Bartimaeus cried for mercy. He did not ask for fairness or justice. Others, perhaps, needed and deserved healing more than he. Apparently, many in the crowd thought that he was undeserving of the attention of Jesus, and they attempted to make him stop his shouting for help. He persevered. He did believe that Jesus could help him. He had faith.

Bartimaeus received the call of Jesus. How joy must have filled his heart when he heard the people say to him, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” (Verse 49) It is never within the power of a person to have all that faith requires; faith moves forward only when Jesus calls.

Bartimaeus was asked what he wanted. Surprisingly, some people do not actually want what Jesus offers. (John 5:6) Even some who saw the miracles of Jesus and received the witness of the resurrection turned away from the gift of faith. Bartimaeus asked and received his vision. Jesus said, “Your faith has healed you.” However, it was not just the faith of that moment, but it was the faith that included all the elements that had put Bartimaeus in the place of his encounter with Jesus and the purposes that were fulfilled as Bartimaeus lived forward with his sight.

Bartimaeus did not return to his former place where he had sat begging; instead, the text tells us that “he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.” (Verse 52) The healing of blind Bartimaeus resulted in his discipleship.The faith healing of Bartimaeus was not for the relief of suffering alone. The greater mission of Jesus was reconciliation with God, the forgiveness of sin. Healing faith was a witness to that greater purpose. (See the account of healing in Mark 2;1-12) 

Healing faith is not up to us. Paul the Apostle prayed to be healed from his thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7) but was not. The prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane was answered in a way that seemed to be a resounding “no” from God. Our prayers for healing may be answered in ways that seem to be a “no” from God as well. Faith trusts that God’s purposes are greater than our sickness or heart break or disability or even death. In our weakness God’s strength is made evident, and beyond our cross there is the promise of resurrection.