by Katie Ray
Last year, I was able to bring the message to our Ash Wednesday service and this year I'm so excited to kick off our 40 days of Lent Devotionals.
Five years ago, I traveled to Indianapolis with my friend, Keight. We were there ministering to a friend whose husband had a life-threatening surgery. After we knew he was okay, we stepped out for fresh air. We came across the electric scooters you often see in cities and started riding. A toxic trait about me is that I often forget my glasses and unfortunately this particular day I forgot them as well. Because of not having 20/20 vision, I misjudged an intersection and crashed into Keight. We ended up bruised and bloody in the street. My blurry vision caused the wreck.
Blurry vision is one thing on a scooter—but when it comes to our Creator, it’s far more dangerous. Too often, messages about sin have left me feeling shame, but God does not use shame as motivation. He is a God of compassion. Confession isn’t about changing how God sees us—it’s about changing our hearts.
In Mark 10, we meet Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who calls out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" He sees Jesus as the Messiah while others, with perfect sight, remain blind. The crowd rebukes him harshly, treating him as an inconvenience. But Jesus stops. On His way to Easter, He stops for one man. He chooses him—just as He chooses us. The Greek term used for rebuke here is intense—it implies a threat. The crowd wasn’t just dismissing Bartimaeus; they were commanding him to be silent. Society had cast him aside, deeming him worthless. Have you ever felt that way? Like an inconvenience, a failure, someone unworthy of love? If so, know this—you are not your past. You are not your mistakes. You are a child of God. And when we call out to Jesus, He will never rebuke us.
Jesus stops and says, "Call him." Imagine that moment. The Son of God, on His way to fulfill His mission, takes time to stop for a blind beggar. He doesn’t rush past Bartimaeus. He sees him. He values him. And He calls him forward. Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and runs to Jesus. That cloak likely represented his identity as a beggar, his security, his comfort. But he let it go to reach Jesus. When Jesus asks what he wants, Bartimaeus responds, "Rabbi, I want to see." And Jesus heals him, saying, "Your faith has made you well."
The biggest miracle isn’t just that Bartimaeus regains his sight—it’s that he follows Jesus. He goes from being a sidelined, ignored beggar to walking with the Savior of the world. And history tells us that he became a significant figure in the early church. His faith didn’t just restore his vision—it transformed his life.
So today, I ask you—what’s keeping you on the curb? What’s blinding you from fully seeing Jesus? Is it pride? Fear? Distractions? A relationship? An addiction? Maybe it’s shame, the belief that you aren’t worthy. But Jesus doesn’t stop for the worthy—He stops for the willing. He stops for the broken, the outcast, the overlooked.
Ash Wednesday isn’t about condemnation—it’s about recognition. Recognizing our need for Jesus. Recognizing that without Him, we are nothing. Recognizing that true transformation begins with humility. We have a choice—cling to what keeps us on the curb or throw it aside and run to Jesus.
Tonight, as we receive the ashes, let them remind us that we are dust—but dust deeply loved by God. It’s not about our capacity—it’s about His compassion. Let’s stand up, open our eyes, and follow Him.
Prayer
Jesus, open our eyes. Show us what’s keeping us from You. Help us surrender it. Remind us that You stopped for Bartimaeus, and You stop for us. In this season of Lent, draw us closer to You. Amen.
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