Many of you may have read the story of blind Bartimaeus who was healed of his blindness by Jesus. As the story goes, Jesus was passing through Jericho and when the blind man heard of it, he becan to cry out loudly, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me" (Mark 10:46). The people who were there tried to shut him up, but he cried out even louder. And we know what happens when we cry out to Jesus. He heard the man's cry, had Bartimaeus brought to him and He healed him. A happy ending.
Now my point is, what about those who are crying out day after day and no one hears them? I'm talking about children who have been abandoned by parents, those locked up in a prison cell, those who are dying of AIDS, hepatitis and other illnesses. The widows, orphans, poor, homeless, divorced right here in our society. And if we think of overseas, we have fields upon fields overflowing with grain ready to be harvested. Jesus said,"The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest" Matthew (9:37-38).
What are we doing about those silent cries that go unheard? Are they our responsibility? Jesus said, "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me ... Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25: 35-36, 40).
Let's not ignore these cries for help all around us. Jesus didn't, and He commissioned us to do as He did. Will you pray for God's leading to help you hear and answer the cries of those less fortunate than ourselves?
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