Walking Trees

"And some people brought to Him a blind man and begged Him to touch him. And He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when He had spit on his eyes and laid His hands on him, He asked Him, 'Do you see anything?' And he looked up and said, 'I see men, but they look like trees, walking.' Then Jesus laid His hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly." - Mark 8.22-25

I was just talking to someone and they reminded me of this passage. I like the fact that Jesus doesn't work by formulas as such, but there are so many different examples of the ways in which God heals. With this blind man He chose to spit on his eyes, with other blind men He simply speaks and then they see. And sometimes it happens instantly, and sometimes it takes two touches, or a bit more time. But whatever the case, it is still God who does it and deserves praise. I think the reason i particularly like this example is because in some ways it seems closer to the way that we often experience healing ourselves. What i mean is, Jesus touched this man, and something significant happened, He could see again, but rather than seeing men as they were, he saw trees walking. Something had undeniably happened, and his eyes had been opened, but he was yet to see the complete fulness of it. But Jesus didn't leave him with half-restored sight either. He touched him again, and this time his sight was fully restored and he saw everything. I don't know why he couldn't see everything after the first time. I don't know why Jesus had to touch him twice. But i'm actually glad that there is such an example in the Bible, because in reality, sometimes we seem to see a certain level of healing in our own lives, but it takes a bit of time to see the absolute fulness of it. This example demonstrates that the healing we have seen so far is real... and is the result of a touch from God... and it also gives us hope that God will complete what He has begun. The end result was the same - complete restoration, whatever the method God used to get there and however much time or however many touches it took.