Paulson Post

Jesus' question in Mark 10:51 "What do you want me to do for you?" is baffling. Jesus knows everything, moreover the man who is crying to him is obviously blind and needs healing. Why then this question; Jesus cannot be that dumb! The blind beggar in Jericho (Mark 10:46-52) was engaged in something demeaning. His name is mentioned in the Bible as Bartimaeus, which means son of honor. Though "a son of honor" he was doing the most dishonorable profession of begging in the city of Jericho. When Jesus met him he was begging. His style of begging (like all beggars do) is to catch people's attention by crying loud "have mercy on me" so that they can throw a coin in to his bowl. He did the same thing when Jesus passed by in the company of a large crowd. This time he did not just cry "have mercy on me" but was more specific because his plea was aimed at Jesus and not the crowd. He cries, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" However...

Tolerance is allowing different viewpoints to exist and thrive without causing them any harm. It comes from respect and love for the different views. Tolerance is possible even if the opposite point of view may hurt our views and may threaten the existence of ours. Often times we mistake accommodation for tolerance ignoring the subtle difference between the two. Accommodating is an outcome of tolerance but need not always be. Usually we can accommodate what we can put up with but it is difficult to accommodate anything that is not congenial. The other day while watching the National Geographic channel I came across a leopard and a young gazelle. The gazelle was just born and has just been able to stand on its feet. The leopard had it between its front legs; the young gazelle looked fearless, the leopard was unconcerned and was looking elsewhere as if he was not interested in the tender prey. It presented the picture of the peace that prophet Isaiah had prophesied about whe...