Jerry Gill's Enduring Questions

BLIND BARTIMAEUS

            When I was a high school senior my new girlfriend asked me to come with her to a Young Life meeting. Young Life was, and is, a nondenominational group that seeks to help teenagers relate to God. I had not grown up in any church, so this was all new to me. I had never heard any Bible stories so when the leader began to talk about this fellow Jesus who met a man named Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) my interest was piqued. Young Life meetings are strictly for high school kids and include some energetic singing of Gospel songs and a brief message in a private home.

            When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing bye he called out: “Jesus, have mercy on me.” There are several somewhat different stories about this incident in the Gospels, but this was the one in Mark that this fellow Doug was explaining. Jesus stopped and spoke with Bartimaeus and then healed his blindness. This was my first encounter with a Jesus story, and it had a very deep impact on me. Jesus’ simplicity and tenderness in dealing with this stranger struck me as direct and powerful.

            The people around them in the street tried to get Bartimaeus to be quiet and not bother Jesus, but he continued to ask for help. “Have mercy on me.” It is interesting that Jesus asked him what he wanted Jesus to do for him. He replied that he wanted to have his sight back. Jesus’ reply was simple and direct: “Go your way. Your faith has cured you.” And, as the Bible often puts such things, “Straight way he received his sight.” And then we are told that Bartimaeus followed Jesus “in the way.”

            I went home from that meeting and thought a lot about the story. I also kept going to the simple weekly meetings and listening to more of these stories about Jesus. Eventually I became a Christian and this decision led me on to a Christian college, theological seminary, and life of teaching in Christian colleges. It was all that simple, and to be sure my newfound faith was also quite simple. At the same time, I must admit that in spite of the rudimentary nature of my new faith there was something genuine about it.

            The fact is that at that time I was a very unsophisticated high school kid who knew very little about life in general, let alone about the Christian faith. Nonetheless, I somehow discerned something genuine in the story about this Bartimaeus and saw myself in it. The kids I met at that meeting seemed different from my own friends. Moreover, I myself was far from a “goody-two-shoes.” These kids seemed to have something beyond themselves to live for and they seemed very happy. There was a genuine warmth about them that was contagious.

            My Mom and friends thought this was a passing stage in my life, and that I would soon drop the whole thing. But that did not happen. As the years went bye I continued to grow in my understanding of what faith is and what I should do with it. Over the years I have often thought about this experience, the most pivotal event in my entire life. I am still trying to figure out what genuine faith is, but I know it has something to do with discerning the difference between genuine

integrity and just trying to find your own way through life without a concrete sense of purpose.

One evening after attending several New Life meetings I went home and called out to Jesus as a stumbling young person and asked for his mercy and help.

Far be it from me to try to fully explain what happened that evening, but I do know that my choice that night changed and has directed my entire life ever since. I called out for help and received an answer, simplistic as it was, that enabled me to have a deeply meaningful life and to find solid happiness in a life dedicated to teaching college aged young people. The shape and content of my Christian commitment has changed radically since that evening, but it remains as the fundamental turning point of my existence. To be willing to call out for help and to try to respond with maximum integrity seems to me to be the end all of life. I think that is what Bartimaeus did, and I think Jesus had a great deal to do with it.