That Annoying Blog

And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. Matthew 9:30-31

I’m sure I don’t know the extent of it, but I have a pretty good idea that my insistence on daily blogging about faith and recovery can be annoying sometimes. The thing is though, when you’ve lived in the blindness of addiction, and then God shines the light of recovery, it’s hard to shut up.

This was the experience of the two blind men in today’s passage. In the story, the sightless duo vigorously pursued Christ, who rewarded their faith with healing. For whatever reason, Jesus commanded the men to keep silent about their miracle. They couldn’t help it though. They’d been given new life, and they couldn’t keep quiet. Matthew reports they made Jesus famous. I suspect that their friends got tired of hearing the story. Honestly though, it would have been odd if they had kept silent.

The passage begs the question: Where am I in the story? Have I found healing in Christ? If not, why not? If I have, do I tell others how to find it?

I grew up believing that God had forgiven my sins once, long ago. I didn’t have much appreciation for what that meant, and I certainly didn’t have any passion for sharing God’s healing with others. The problem was, I was blind to my ongoing need. I was “saved” but still, I desperately needed to seek Christ daily, continually finding freedom from those things that were still making me sick.

This is the problem for many of us. We simply aren’t in a place where we’re daily going to God, allowing him to transform us. We may pray for help with our problems, but we aren’t truly abandoning self to seek Christ in such a way that we’re finding freedom or recovery.

If we truly desire transformation, life, and faith, then daily, we must do what it takes to go to Christ for healing. This often means radical change. The two blind men followed Jesus relentlessly, crying out, not caring what anyone thought of them. Then, when Jesus healed them, they couldn’t shut up about it. Sure, it was annoying to many, but to others, it was the message of light, hope, and life that they desperately needed.