Mark 10:46-52 – 46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

But here’s the good news—you don’t have to literally be a blind beggar to enter the kingdom, but you do have to be a spiritual blind beggar.  The first Beatitude puts this is similar terms and bears worth repeating over and over–Matt. 5:“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Is it difficult for you to consider yourself in this way—as a blind beggar merely able to cry out to God in desperation and offer nothing of value of your own doing?  Some spend most of their days seeing themselves as a victim and sometimes it is undeniable they have been wronged by others.  Nevertheless, there could never be a comparison of the extent we have sinned against God vs. how we have been sinned against by others.  So, in order to honor God even in those situations, we must have the blind beggar view of ourselves or else we will cultivate bitterness and pride.  There is never an advantage nor will any good spring forth from thinking of ourselves as anything else.  But here again is the good news about that: Christ said he did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance and as we learned last week, he gives up his life as a ransom payment so that anyone who entrusts themselves to him will enter the kingdom and have eternal life.