The Journey 103: Transformation In My Community
Read: Mark 10:46-52
Image building exercise. From a well known sports person in NBA to a Hollywood star , or to an ordinary individual in the world, everyone is concerned on building up a new image. Thus most of the people are wanting to go in for a new look. The look may be through a new haircut, or loosing up of ones weight, or going for the latest in plastic surgery to shed their extra weight, go in for a diet so that they look slim, remove the unwanted fat on the cheek and also on the bottom, the list may go endless and some of the demand may sound so crazy. This is what the world is—It is all about ones image and creating the right image. But this image building exercise is always done normally to hide a deficiency and to highlight something that is external in ones personality. Hence what is unreal is made real and what is real is banished away from reality. Let us remember the words in the book of Proverbs- “ Beauty is fleeing, charm is deceptive”. Thus in an age of beauty and deception where do you think a Christian stands in terms of his image, and how does this image reflect as to who he is?. Transformation in our community may sometime demand that we loose our image that the world is so concerned about, so that we are used by God for His glory.
This week we are meditating on the theme “ Transformation in my community”. The portion that we are using for our meditation is from Mark 10: 46-52. This passage shows how a blind beggar undergoes transformation in himself and also in the community that he belongs to. A person who wanted a change, but the society did not allow that, finally he found his voice in the crowd that made Jesus to take note of him. He is finally brought in the presence of Jesus and it is then that Jesus ask him as to what “ He should do for him” and that is when the blind beggar says that he wants to regain his sight. The request of the blind beggar may sound very normal because any blind person in the first place would want his sight back. But I think there is more in the request of the blind man in asking for his sight. Here is a man who has been branded by the society as not only as a blind man but he has been branded as a blind beggar. But now what the blind man want is the change of image– He wants to move forward in life from the blind beggar to an individual of his own right, healed by Jesus Christ. Here in the blind beggar, we find the determination and the resolve to consciously loose ones image that the world has given to him and build up a new image in life through Jesus Christ, which will require lot of determination, hard work and commitment to move forward in life. The blind man is ready to do that.
What God requires from us is the will to moulded by him, the willingness to acquire the new image that our Lord gives to us when we become an instrument in His hands. Only when the world sees the new image that Christ brings in us that the true transformation in our community begins.
Ready to go in for a new look and a new image through Christ in our life?