My Way Is His Way

Let's start with this video. It's a bit dated, as the striped shirts and banded collars will indicate. You can listen as you read. First, from the book of Mark:
"Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 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!'
Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, 'Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.' And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
So Jesus answered and said to him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?'
The blind man said to Him, 'Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Go your way; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road" (Mark 10:46-52).
Bartimaeus inspired me as I was reading through this. Here was a guy that was motivated. He knew of Jesus, though he hadn't ever seen Him. The Bible doesn't say if he was blind since birth; we just know that he was blind. But even though he had never seen Jesus, he had heard the good news of Jesus. He knew that Jesus could heal him. So when he got the opportunity to meet Jesus, he didn't pass it up. (Preachers, there's a sermon for you.)
I also learned from Bartimaeus is that you don't let anyone keep you from Jesus. Notice that as he is calling out for Him, the people are telling him to be quiet. He was not about to let his opportunity to meet Jesus go away. We receive pressures today from a world that is far from sensitive to Jesus. We want Him out of the spotlight, we minimize Him, trivialize Him, treat Him like a cartoon figure, or give Him less power than He has. Don't let that pressure keep you from realizing that He is what you need, and He will answer you if you call on Him.
The main things I noticed were:
When we come to Jesus in faith, we must expect a change. Bartimaeus knew about Jesus. Too many people had been healed, lives had been changed, and His fame went everywhere. That's why deep down he knew- he must get to Jesus. He will change me.
A side note- some things hold us back from the change we come for. Earlier in the chapter, the young rich man came asking what he needed for eternal life. Jesus told him to sell his riches and give to the poor. He walked away. His riches and his "good" life here were more important to him than the truly good life there.
Lastly- When He changes us, we cannot go back to our old way. Notice the end of the story. Jesus told Him to go his way. Bartimaeus began to follow Jesus. In other words, his way was God's way. 
Think of Ruth. When she had nothing left, she went with Naomi, saying essentially the same thing. Think of the Wise Men. When they went to Jesus, they went back home a different way. When God changes you, when you immerse yourself in Him, that's when the true change begins. You can't live the life you did before. You read His word, it shows the way to live. It shows what God expects. It shows what needs to change in you, and what of your lifestyle needs to go away.
That is the change in me. I can't have the friends that I did before. I don't have the opinions that I used to have. My life and my decisions are based on the infallible Word. I remember the time God revealed Himself to me and showed my my need for Him. I am thankful for my decision to follow Him. I am proud to say that My way is His way. Or His way is my way. I'm not perfect, by any means. But thankfully He is, and my trust is in Him.

"An enemy has done this."

This past Sunday I was reading Matthew in between calls at work. I was in Matthew 13, reading the parable of the weeds:
    "He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
(Matthew 13:24-30 ESV)
That phrase really stood out to me in this instance. It has burned in my mind for days. Jesus explained it as a parable for the end of the age. But I have been seeing it in another light. Now obviously the wheat represents the believer in Christ. They are growing in the field. But their life does not stay isolated for long. Questions came up to me:
1: What has the enemy done?
He infiltrated. In this stage, weeds and wheat look very similar. They grow close together. They come in where they cannot easily be eliminated without damaging the wheat. In our world, it can look like a believer in Christ, but not completely following everything that the Bible says. It can be an attack on our character. It can be an attack on our marriage. He sneaks in at night to steal, kill, and destroy. He has many weapons at his disposal, and among the toughest is the "coexistence" that wheat and weeds have together.
2: How did the Master react?
Calm assessment and eventual judgment. He didn't burn the field; He didn't panic. He stepped back, saw what happened, and declared the best solution for the problem.
God has seen your situation. He knows that you may be hurting. A loved one may be about to depart this world. One may have just walked out on you. You may be tempted to give up on everything. He has a plan for you in this, though.
3: What is the wheat to do?
Grow. That's all it is asked to do. It is not easy. Weeds have a specific purpose. They steal nutrients from the wheat that prevent it from growing like it is intended to. Some weeds choke life out of plants. Wheat needs to stand (Ephesians 6) in the sun (or Son), soak it in (get engrossed in the Word, in prayer, and with other believers), and GROW. The rest of the Master's plan (eventual judgment) will soon take place.
4: What will happen?
At the end, the weeds will be taken, bound, and thrown in the fire. Weeding can be a difficult thing for the gardener, and can be annoying. But it is rewarding for the gardener when the finished work of the garden is revealed. Jesus tells His disciples when He explains the parable that like when the wheat will be gathered into the barn "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (verse 43). Wheat, when it has grown and is ready for harvest, is a thing of beauty. Golden, amber waves...like when Job said "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold"(Job 23:10 ESV).
Long story short: God knows about the attack. He was not caught off guard. He is not unfeeling; but the situation has not given Him cause for concern. Trust His plan and grow. He will at the right time make all things right.