Matthew 20:30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Either this incident or a very similar one is recorded in other Gospels as well, with variations, but the thing that stands out to me right now is the insistence on the title, Son of David. That title was Messianic to say the least! These men, unable to do anything but beg, think and talk, had used those last two abilities and come to the conclusion that this Jesus they had been hearing about was indeed the promised One. When they realized that Jesus was physically close to them, their excitement couldn’t be restrained. Thus, it is entirely logical that once they were healed, they followed Jesus. (verse 34) Their focus wasn’t simply on “Jesus the healer,” but on the conviction that He was indeed the prophesied Messiah. It is fascinating that these men, doubtless uneducated because of their disability, had more insight than most of the religious intelligentsia! It is precisely like the incident recorded in John 9, where a man born blind essentially made fools of the men who interrogated him after Jesus healed him. Academic credentials mean nothing if the person is not open to God. We set up all sorts of criteria for evaluating people, but most of them are largely meaningless. It’s not that academic study is of no value, but it must be on the foundation of a personal relationship with our Creator for it to really mean anything on the eternal scale. These men leapfrogged the teachers of the Law!

My family tree is replete with academic degrees of all sorts, and my father got his PhD shortly before his 24^th birthday. His dissertation was on The New Testament Use of In Jesus, In Christ, and In the Lord (those three are given in Greek). However, he told me personally that he had no idea what is was to be “in Christ” until after he had a personal encounter with the Holy Spirit, after he was already a missionary in Japan. It wasn’t until his massive intellect was submitted to God that it really did him the good God intended. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t a committed Christian before then. After all, he went to seminary to study to be a minister, and during that period spent a summer in Havana Cuba as the interim pastor of an English language congregation there. It’s just that he needed his eyes opened by the operation of the Holy Spirit, to see and act on who and what Christ was to him. I’ve not gone as far as getting a doctorate, but I am very thankful for my father’s example and testimony. Rather than chasing after “credentials,” I want to press in to know more of my Lord. I did consider going back to school of a Doctor of Missiology, but when I discovered that the school I was interested in required a language other than English and the language of the nation where you ministered, I decided that it would probably be meaningless academics for the sake of academics. I am reminded of Stuart Briscoe, who left a career in banking to minister, and told government officials he attended “Bedside Bible College!” The credentials of any believer are the fruit they bear, just as Jesus said. (Matthew 7:16-20 and others)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me not despise know­ledge, but rather keep it on the firm foundation of knowing You, so that I may not be distracted or deceived, but rather grow as You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!