MATTHEW 20:29-34 – “And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”  And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.”

THEME OF THE DAY: EARNESTLY SEEKING JESUS.  The Lord gives us a tremendous promise in the Old Testament major prophet book of Jeremiah.  He says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 29:11-14b).  This promise is so tremendous because of its fulfillment; the greatest experience a human being will ever have – a close and loving relationship with the living God.  The Lord promises us Himself, yet there is a catch, or a condition.  We must seek Him with everything we are – “You will seek Me, and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart”.

When we come across the word heart in scripture, be careful not to define it as the world does.  Ask any unbeliever, and maybe some believers, to describe what the heart is, and we will immediately be told “it’s the seat of affections.”   We might hear an illustration such as, “I love her or him with all my heart” and the emphasis would be on the emotions.  That falls short of the Biblical definition of the heart.  It is defined as the center of our entire being to include the mind, will, and affection. So, when the Lord promises us we will find Him when we seek Him with all our heart that means everything about us is given over to the seeking – minds, wills, and emotions.   And that leads to the scripture of the day. The two blind men are fine examples of earnestly seeking Jesus.

First, these two men were desperate.  Blind and beyond human help of any kind, they heard Jesus was passing by and they immediately cried out to Him – “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David.”   We will only earnestly seek the Lord when we know we desperately need the Lord.  Faith has an element of abandonment to it. It is casting ourselves upon Christ knowing He is not only our greatest need but our greatest reward.

The blind men also were persistent. They would not be denied even with obstacles attempting to keep them from Jesus – “The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!””   The seeking heart for Jesus will not give up.  We will persevere. We will be diligent, and the Lord has promised we will find Him.

Earnestly seeking Jesus.  This defines the heart cry and pursuit of the healthy Christian. The first verse of the hymn More About Jesus says it all, “More about Jesus would I know, more of His grace to others show; more of His saving fullness see, more of His love who died for me.”

PRAYER: Lord, give me an earnest heart to seek You as You are – the pearl of great price.

REFLECTION:  God promises to reward the person who diligently seeks Him with the reward of Himself.