For the Little Ones.
READ Mark 10:17 to the end, and you will find, dear children, a very interesting narrative about two men who came to the Lord Jesus Christ when he was in this world going about doing good.
You will find that one of them was a very rich young man who had great possessions and was enjoying them; he was so satisfied with them, and valued them so much, that he would not give them up even to have treasure in heaven. The other was a poor man, so poor that he had to sit as a beggar by the wayside, and what was even worse than that, he was quite blind; as he sat there he was never cheered by seeing the sun’s bright rays, or delighted as you are by admiring the beautiful trees and flowers around him. Neither could he see the kind looks of those who gave him money or food, and you know a kind look will sometimes gladden the heart of a poor person almost as much as what you put into his hand. Always think of this in your little acts of kindness, pity those poor people whom the Lord has afflicted, and when you are able to help those you are sure are in need of it, do so cheerfully, looking at them and speaking to them kindly, just as you would like them to do to you, if you were in trouble instead of them.
So Bartimeus was poor, and blind too; I have no doubt you pity him, and think his life must have been a very sad and lonely one indeed; and I dare say you think how very much rather you would have been the rich young man spoken of in the former part of the chapter; but if you will read it over carefully, you will find that however happy he was in the enjoyment of his wealth, yet he went away from Jesus “very sorrowful” (Luke 18:23); while the poor blind man, whose whole life had been tinged with sorrow, was made so very glad by this same Jesus, that he followed him rejoicing and praising God.
Now I want to talk a little to you about these two men; about how it was that the one should go away grieved, while the other would stay with Jesus, and find happiness in following him. And first let me tell you, that you yourselves will all have to do with this same Jesus at some time or other, and each one of you will either stay with him and find a happy and eternal home in his blessed presence, or else you will go away from him, or rather be sent away, very sorrowful, and never, never see his face any more. I therefore ask you, as I am sure you would much rather live forever with Jesus and his people than with the devil and his angels, to take great notice of the differences we shall find out between these two men You see from this narrative that people can be rich and yet miserable, and you may be quite sure that this young man is not the only person who has found it so. Riches do not make happiness, any more than clouds make sunshine, and it will be a good thing for you to make up your minds to this before you grow up, and have to go out into the world to provide for yourselves in it. You would not like to find out some day, after walking a long distance to buy something, that your purse contained only buttons instead of money; you would wish you had looked into it before starting; and now I do want you, before you start in the world, just to look into your purse, as it were, and see whether what you expect to buy happiness with is really the right kind of money; whether it will enable you to get that joy and peace you hope to find.
Work, by all means, and work industriously, but never think to buy real pleasure with the money you may get, or by-and-by, should your life be spared in this world, your heart must be bitterly disappointed. Be assured the only things that can afford true and solid comfort to you, are such as come from heaven, and do not belong to this world at all; for everything “good and perfect” is from above, as the Bible tells us, and the thing you want to make you really happy is a knowledge of Jesus, God’s beloved Son, as your Saviour and your Friend; and when, by simply believing in him, your sins are washed away, you will have a joy in your soul that this young man’s wealth never gave him; a happiness that none can take away from you.
But, do not on the other hand, make the mistake of supposing that because Bartimeus was poor, Jesus was more willing to bless him than he would have been to bless the rich ruler; Jesus never disliked rich people just because they were rich. Many people think that poverty makes them more acceptable to God, and brings them nearer to him; and so they say, “It is through much tribulation we are to enter the kingdom; and so, as we have much suffering in this world, we shall escape it in the next.” Now this way of talking is very foolish and wrong; for although Jesus himself said that his people should enter the kingdom through much tribulation, he never said that all those who so suffered would enter the kingdom. I might tell you that if you came to my house you must go down a certain street, but I should not mean to say that every person who went down that street was going to my house; and so as to going to be with Jesus, poverty and trial cannot cleanse you, or make you fit for his presence, for God has said that “without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins,” and because Jesus knew this, he came into this world and shed his own precious blood, that whosoever believeth in him, whether rich or poor, “might have everlasting life.”
So poor blind Bartimeus did not get a blessing because he was poor, nor did Jesus send away the rich gentleman because he was not poor; indeed, he did not send him away at all. But I should like you to read and think about this yourselves, and try to find out how it was that the rich man was so sad, and the poor one so glad, after meeting with the Lord Jesus; and if spared, I hope to say a little more to you on the subject in another number of Good News.
W. T.