And he looked up, and said,
I see men as trees, walking. 
(Mark 8:24)

         “ And He said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
         “And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought Him to touch him. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought?
         “And he (the man) looked up, and said, ‘I see men as trees, walking.’
         “After that, He put His hands again upon his (the man’s) eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored and saw every man clearly.”
(Mark 8:21-25)

BLIND MAN BLUFF

         I love the way our Lord uses things in the natural to show us things in the Spirit. He uses the simple things of life to give us understanding about the complex. I believe His desire is to make things simple. He wants to be easy to be understood.
         So, what does He bring to my mind this morning? The game we played as children called Blind Man’s Bluff.
         A towel or something equivalent, was tied around the eyes of one of the participants. The others then spun them around several times and the blind man would stumble and grasp, walk very carefully, arms reaching out…trying to touch someone else without seeing them. When that person was touched (tagged), they became the blind man…and the previously blind man could now see.
         So many sermons could be taught from this one game as we relate it to the lessons our Lord has taught us. You might ponder this for a minute and see how it speaks to you and your circumstances and people in your life.

CONSIDER THE “BLUFF”
BLIND MAN WALKING

         Check out the word “bluff” in the game above. Have you known people who are still not able to see past the trees? People who do not want anyone to recognize their limited vision? So they try to “bluff” their way through uncomfortable surroundings. 
         The word bluff means: (verb) pretend to have strength, confidence, or the intention of doing something, in order to deceive somebody. Trying to mislead somebody about something. Feigned confidence. 
         These dear ones bluffing, may not be trying to intentionally deceive anyone, but they do not want others to feel pity for them and they do not want others to know that they can not see as well as they would like. But when the blinders come off, they will no longer have to “bluff”.
         The noun for bluff is: a high steep bank, cliff, especially with a broad face (base). A blind person is very careful about where he walks until His vision can exceed that safe base.

PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL EYESIGHT
(Ephesians 1:18)

         For some time now many of us have been praying this verse over our loved ones and ourselves. 
         “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know  what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”
         Considering that God Himself is moving mightily at this time, bringing in the Harvest, even the Harvesting of our prayers, in ways that will be unexpected but recognizable as the Hand of God and the answer to our prayers, we rejoice. What a day to be living in. 
         Convinced of this, we can have a Faith Picture of what things would look like if they looked the way we know they should. God’s way. In family gatherings, relationships, work areas, homes…whatever your present “walking through” situation is today…try to picture it the way it should be. And it can be that.

MEN AS TREES, WALKING
A SECOND TOUCH

         In Compassion Jesus returned to the Blind Man, and laid His hands on him again. The man did not see clearly the first time, so in love and patience, and faith…our Lord laid hands on him again. 
         The first time, the man saw “a little”. He could barely see. Things were fuzzy and the men he saw looked like trees walking.
         No one wants to be blind. Our Lord does not want us to be blind. We all want to see. There may be people in our lives who can only see partially, but they desire to see clearly. Perhaps someone gave up on them too soon. Perhaps, the most they can see is “men as trees walking.” 
         But I sincerely believe, this is the time that many are getting their Second Touch from Jesus and this time they WILL SEE CLEARLY. Praise God! And you will see the change in them as well as in yourself. God is Moving.
         The way God does things is so awesome and exciting. Hardly ever the way we expect. But when you see the eyes of your once blind loved ones…opening, your rejoicing will certainly be equal to theirs. And almost more so because you have planted so many seeds of prayer, awaiting this blessed event. 
         And when it happens, you may be the only one who is not surprised. If you can BELIEVE what I am telling you, you will receive the reward of knowing ahead of time. And I will have the JOY of saying: “I told you so.”
         Be Ready. Our Lord is moving quickly now in His Harvest. And you are a part of it. Praise God! His compassion is relentless.