Blind Eyes

I had cataract surgery a few days ago. Basically, they cut into your eye, remove the original lens, and replace it with a new one. Sounds simple, right?

Wrong.

This was like REAL surgery! Lol! Hospital gown, IV in my wrist, anesthesiologist, operating room, the whole thing.

The actual procedure took five-ten minutes, but the prep time took an hour. My surgeon had 17 such surgeries Thursday morning. Then he met with each of us patients that same afternoon to see how we were doing.

So, is my vision all clear this morning? Nope. I can see but my vision is still a bit cloudy. That's normal I guess but I was hoping for some kind instantaneous restoration. Again . . . nope.

It reminds me of Jesus and His healing of the man born blind.

"He (Jesus) took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly." - Mark 8:23-25

The interesting thing about the account we just read was that Jesus healed the man in two stages. With other similar healings of blindness in the Bible people could see immediately. So, why wasn't this man's healing the same?

It doesn't really say, but there is a hint a few verses earlier when read that it was "some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him." The blind man himself did not ask to be healed.

Perhaps by being partially healed at first the blind man himself then had faith in Jesus. He certainly had no hope before, but now he actually could see, although not clearly. But now the man himself believed in the healing power that Jesus had. And that's what Jesus was waiting for.

Elsewhere in the Bible we read of many other such healings of the blind and lame and we hear this from Jesus:

"Your faith has healed you."

The blind man was brought to Jesus because of THEIR faith, not his. Total restoration (the second time) was a result of the blind man's faith, not theirs.

I believe my eye surgeon when he says that the cloudiness in my eye will disappear in a few days. His testimony is based on thousands of other such surgeries that he has performed.

But my ultimate faith is in Jesus. My faith in Jesus is based on the total restorative surgery that He has already performed on my heart. Only through Him was I made able to clearly see.