A number of years ago we did ministry in a place that had not heard the Gospel. The people there had no hope, other than seeking witch doctors, who both cursed and “healed” them. People would spend all they had looking for a cure, trapped in darkness; the good news of the Gospel was such freedom to them!

I don’t know why, but the phrase, “They kept the matter to themselves…” (Mark 9:10) continues to grab my attention when I read this passage of Scripture. Sure, it was a command from Jesus that they not utter a word about what they had just witnessed, but the fact that they were able to keep something as epic as what they had just seen from any of the other followers is impressive!

One of my many faults is a discomfort with silence when meeting someone for the first time or in a group of people. If there is a void of silence, I will fill it. Probably with a joke or, quite possibly, something nonsensical. I now realize that sometimes the best thing to do is remain silent and just drink in the moment!

One of my favorite traveling games when my wife and I are driving somewhere is to listen to 80s music, in my opinion the greatest decade of music ever, and say, “Who is this?”, trying to name the band.

For those of us who have to wear some sort of corrective lenses, what a gift it is to be able to see clearly as, we know, what is it like to try and read or see without them.  The historical interaction that we read about today between the blind man brought by his friends and Jesus, resulted in his sight being restored, and him having the ability to see everything clearly (Mark 8:25).