A PARABLE OF LIFE
‘Blind Bartimæus, the son of Timæus, sat by the highway side begging.… And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.’
We may take the story of the blind man of Jericho as a parable of our life.
I. A beggar.—He sat by the wayside begging. So do we. We are by the wayside of life, begging. We are all beggars to God.
II. Blind.—So are we, morally. Here is a man who is selfish, utterly given up to following his own way; he will not deny himself anything which he can get; yet he calls himself a Christian. That man is blind.
III. He cried out.—When once we realise that Jesus is close to us, we, too, cry out.
IV. The Lord called him.—Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. How often He has called you by the teachings of the pulpit, by the altar, by the whisper of conscience; but some of you have not hearkened, have not done as the blind man did: ‘he, casting aways his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.’
We all need to pray that we may receive our sight, to see our sins, our folly, our weakness; that we may see the love and mercy and forbearance of Jesus; that we may see the wondrous things of His love, and learn His way to be the right way, and be enabled henceforth to walk therein.