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One story in Mark’s gospel bothered me for a long time. Jesus healed a blind man, but when Jesus said, “Do you see anything?” the blind man replied, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (Mark 8:22–26, ESV)
What!? It seems as if Jesus isn’t the perfect healer, after all. Did he make a mistake? Are his powers limited? Why did the man need a second dose of the Great Physician’s medicine?
But, it turns out, this story is more like real life than I’m comfortable admitting. I am that blind man. And I need Jesus’ healing touch more than once.
Maybe a story will help.
I used to work in an office building overlooking Interstate 90 in Bellevue, Washington. I hated that job, and I hated my boss. There are many reasons why it was a bad fit, both for me and…