:. spitting and touching and healing .:

In Mark 8, starting at v. 22, there's a very interesting story about a blind man. It says that friends brought the man to Jesus and "begged Him to touch him."
So what does Jesus do? He takes him by the hand and leads him outside the village (touching going on, but no healing . . . and why do they need to go on a walk first????)

Naturally, the next thing Jesus does is SPIT on his eyes (really, Jesus?) and put His hands on him . . . (touching, touching).
And, voila! The man's sight is . . . only partially restored. Oh, how disappointing!

Jesus puts His hands on the guy's eyes again (more touching) . . . and this time, this time, he can see.
Awesome, Jesus!! Restoring sight to the blind!!


Here's the kicker: two chapters later, He heals another blind guy with one word.

I've been thinking about this for two days. . . .wondering why.
Why does God sometimes choose to take us on an arduous path in order to work in our lives, when other times it's as simple as a word spoken to us?
Why do we sometimes (almost) feel like God is spitting on us, instead of helping us?
Why are we blind in the first place?

Of course, I have no answer as to why. Jesus knows us inside and out; He knows exactly what we need (and don't need). Perhaps He knows that sometimes we need to be taken on a longer road to give our hearts time to catch up. Perhaps He heals differently to remind His followers that He is GOD, and we dare not try to put Him in our small boxes.
But one thing I am sure of is that when we ask for His help, Jesus will take hold of our hand.

The final word on the blind man? When at last his eyes were opened, we are told "he saw everything clearly."

That is what Jesus desires for each of us.