"The Real Need"

"And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight." Mark 10:51 

Why did Jesus ask the blind man what he wanted Him to do for him? Wasn't it obvious? He was blind! Of course his need was to see and be healed of his blindness. 

 

Often the real need is not the obvious one. He may have been blind, but there may have been a deeper issue that he had that outweighed the blindness of his physical eyes. When people look at us, what they see is the exterior need-- which may not be our greatest need at all. When the woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears and hair entered the house and approached Jesus, one could have judged that she needed deliverance from her ill-reputed lifestyle. I believe her need was deeper than that. She needed to be loved and accepted. She needed compassion. She needed the inner most longing of her heart fulfilled. When that was taken care of, the other (her deliverance) was taken care of.

 

People tend to act certain ways sometimes because of an issue that may not be seen. It is like the young child who misbehaves and is always getting in trouble. A rebellious, overactive character is not always his problem. He may act like he does seeking attention-- and even negative attention is better than no attention at all.

 

It would do us good not to judge others according to appearance. It would be wise if we did not assume we knew what others needed based on what we see. We should seek the Lord and the discernment of the Holy Spirit when looking at and praying for others. We should come "clean" in our own lives and be open and honest with the Lord about what the real issue we are dealing with is-- not just the surface, physical and most obvious one.

 

Have a great day. Our real need is not always the one that is most obvious in our own lives and in the lives of others.

 

For further reading:

Philippians 4:19

John 7:24