A Blind Teacher Can Teach The Blind To See

A Blind Teacher Can Teach 

The Blind To See

by Dwight Cunkle

 

My first piano teacher was blind, Mrs. Fumigalli. Dad bought a piano and wanted we three kids to take lessons while providing a little income for this single mother. On Thursdays we would all eat his version of lasagna or spaghetti and I would try to convince Mrs. Fumigalli that I had practiced that week. She was not fooled. She was hard to understand with her thick Italian accent, and though blind she could not only “see” but correct my mistakes.

It never, ever occurred to me that Jesus could or would heal her blind eyes.

On the other hand, Blind Bartimaeus, on hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me" (Mark 10:47). He lacked eyesight, but he possessed “True Vision.” His experience of bitter darkness did not led him to despair, but rather to look forward to encountering Jesus. 

Bartimaeus refused to measure himself by what was lacking in his life. The fact that he had eyes which couldn’t see was a sign to him that he had been made to see. It filled him with expectations. His insight turned his life into one of hopeful vigilance..

He was looking for God, His Maker and “recognized” him in Jesus Christ when the Lord drew near. His blindness brought him to conviction of faith and action-calling out for healing, for faith is a way of seeing… seeing in a manner that goes beyond the eyes.

Is Jesus passing by? Does faith move us to cry out, "Jesus,  have mercy on me!" Jesus hears your cry. Jesus is calling you to come to him. "Take courage get up, throw off the cynic’s cloak or the prideful mindset that you have to try harder or do better. Ask Him what you will. " Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak sprang up and came to Jesus” (Mk 10:49-50).

Exchange those cloaks for what Christ says and gives you.

(based on an article in “The Magnificat” February 2013)

Freeing Yourself from Anger Rising from Insecurity (Part Five)

Freeing Yourself from Anger Rising from Insecurity (Part Five)

By Dwight Cunkle

based on The Anger Trap by Dr Les Carter

Anger can be understood as serving to preserve personal worth or value.

Emotional Dependency: An angry person may unconsciously be insecure about their own self-worth. All of us have some degree of emotional dependency. We are irritated when others ignore our directions or disrespect our wishes. We are never so detached from circumstances and persons that we never react to rudeness or complications. We all need and desire to feel loved and affirmed.

Love Deficit: Angry reactions reveal our desire to be held in higher regard. When we realize how much we depend on others to affirm our self worth we may not feel very
worthy. It is better to believe our own inborn worth in God’s image rather than be tied to achievement or performance. Worth is inherent whereas God’s love is unconditional.

Delicate Detachment: We can mentally separate ourselves from the judgment and behavior of others rather than taking everything personally. I can act upon my anger and retain my self worth while treating others with sensitivity when I realize their rudeness is probably revealing their own insecurity. My response can be that of a caring person rather than a person who
needs others to make me feel loved.

When I contemplate on God’s love for me, I am a person of worth treating others worthily.

Contemplate:
Who I am and want to be.
I must be willing to hold onto my separateness and my self worth as an individual. Then I can maintain my
composure, be assertive and calm in letting others know what is important to me while still treating them with dignity and love.

THE KEY TO DIRECTION
By Richard Lineberry

"I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from ?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."
Psalm 121:1-2

No one in their right mind should seriously think they are not in need of help. You don't have to be very old to learn how insufficient we are. Things are hard. Learning is hard, relationships are hard (even with people who are trying to love us), work is hard. Life can be pretty sure and puzzling at the same time. About the time we think we know enough to handle things, that familiar insufficiency creeps back in. Old knowledge is not sufficient for the present. What used to work well, is obsolete.

The psalmist here is speaking something he's learned. Help of all kinds, even though he doesn't specify his present dilemma, comes from God. His phrase "I lift my eyes to the hills" belongs to primitive thinking that God is up there somewhere. Well, yes He is. He is also the God of the valleys. He's in our highs and lows, times of suffering and times of victory.

As Christian believers, God is up high, down low, in between and, above all, in our hearts and minds. We say He is personal yet we often need to be reminded how personal. He knows our thoughts before we think them and has answers ready for our future questions. Blessings are abundant with the God who controls all things and owns all of the wealth of the universe. His knowledge is inexhaustible. The directions we need to follow to experience this resurrection life, He gives out freely. Our problem is not His reluctance to give but rather our desire to receive His guidance and help.

When we think of having a "relationship" with God or anyone else, we must remember that time must be spent in the presence of the one we want to know deeply. Time spent in His Word acquaints us with Him. There we learn what God has done in the past and even what He is doing now and in the future. But to learn, we must spend the time needed to learn. But the present word of direction comes when our hearts are fully sacrificed to His will. Though our present moment my be difficult or pleasant, God always knows the best next step.

My encouragement for us today is to practice listening to the voice of the Spirit of God inside. He has more to say than we usually take time to hear. Know that He will direct us differently than the voices of this world as well as our own good ideas but always knows the best way. Our key to getting His direction is always a humble approach which recognizes His greatness, ears that are willing to hear and a heart willing to follow His lead.