Bringing Your Colleagues to Jesus 

 “They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.” —
Mark 8:22

Jesus and His disciples found their way to Bethsaida. As always, Jesus was on assignment to do good and  transform lives. There was a certain blind man who was known to all in the village. He was identified by his disability and no more. We have no name for this man. However, there was a group of people who cared about his healing. They knew Jesus could heal, and they knew the man was blind, so they connected the dots. They did not sit passively, waiting to see if Jesus would locate the man in the crowd and heal him. They took deliberate steps to bridge the gap between the man and Jesus.

The Scripture says that the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. We are constantly surrounded by blinded men and women. We walk with them, talk with them, exchange emails, and sit in meetings with them. But somehow, we have become so used to their blindness that we see no need for their restoration. As disciples of Jesus, we step into our “Bethsaida” daily to work alongside our Master. But how much do we care about the blind around us?

Sometimes we recognise that they are there, but we often ignore the responsibility we have towards them, which is to bring them to Jesus and plead their case, that they may see the light of His glorious gospel. Individually and collectively, as Christians in our organisations, we should make it our responsibility to bring our colleagues to Jesus, both in prayer and in conversation. Because as long as the Master is with us, He is not tired of saving and delivering people from the shackles of darkness.

In the following verses in Mark 8, the Bible records that Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When we stand in the gap for our colleagues, we are inviting Jesus to take them by the hand and lead them outside their village of unbelief. Sometimes, He brings them away from what they are familiar with so that He can touch their eyes with His love.

He touched the man’s eyes, and he could see people. He now became conscious of the value God had always placed around him, because people are our greatest assets here on earth. However, he did not see people clearly. He did not see them as God wanted him to. He saw them as trees walking. He saw them as objects of productivity at work. And sometimes we are like the blind man after the frst touch. We see people, but just as objects around us.

But God wants to give us and our colleagues a clearer vision. He wants us to see people clearly. He wants us to see one another with love and compassion. So Jesus touched the man again. This time, he saw clearly.

Then Jesus instructed him not to go back to the village, but to go home. This is very instructive because “home” is the place of love and acceptance. God does not want us to remain in the place of mere familiarity. Just as Paul from 2 Cor 5:16 said, “Henceforth know we no man after the flesh.”  God wants us to build our lives around the love of the family of God.

The end goal of bringing your colleagues to Jesus is that He will lead them out of the village and back home to the Father’s love.

Therefore, I admonish you: take time this month, by yourself and with your workplace groups, to pray for your colleagues. You can be intentional enough to call them by name.

•  Pray that God would open the eyes of their understanding so that they may know Him.
•  Pray that the hold of darkness over their hearts and minds would be broken by the light of God.
•  Pray that your conversations with them would leave them with questions, and that the answers to those questions would lead them to salvation.
   

David Isaac Arinze
Transform Work Ambassador (Scotland)