“Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.” Mark 8:25
Texting, messaging, and email has become a preferred choice of communication, in this modern age, but often things get lost in translation. Without hearing one’s tone of voice and seeing their body language, it can be easy to miss what’s really being said.
Jesus often talked about “having ears to hear and eyes to see.” It’s obvious He wasn’t talking about physical eyes and ears because we all have those. So, what exactly was He talking about? He was talking about a hearing and seeing heart. He didn’t want people to just listen to what He was saying, but rather “get” what He was saying.
Jesus knew that one of the things that was sure to block one’s heart from hearing and seeing was pride, as demonstrated by the Pharisees in Mark chapter eight. Out of their prideful hearts, they demanded a sign from Jesus, causing Him to pull back and leave their area all together. Yet just a few verses before, He had fed over 4,000 men, plus women and children, with seven large basketfuls leftover. So, what made the difference between these two groups of people? Pride.
While one group’s hearts were open to the Lord, the other group had hearts that were hardened with pride, and as a result, they never saw what the others did. They never saw the miracles that the blind man in Mark 8 saw all because their hearts, being blinded with pride, couldn’t see.
In verse fourteen of the same chapter, Jesus told his disciples, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” Yeast is the symbol of a prideful heart.
Today, let’s keep our focus on our loving Heavenly Father and ask His Spirit to help us keep our hearts free from pride, and most importantly “spiritual pride.” As we do, we can live with the guarantee that we will “see God!”