Around 85 A.D. the apostle John writes a compelling book
because he was convinced that people needed to believe in Jesus Christ. His own
personal experiences, life lessons, struggles and joys had been a direct result
of surviving through His personal relationship to Jesus Christ and the
dedication he had to the ministry. His personal self-constitution was that
Jesus Christ was the messiah and that ALL people needed to come to a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. An aspect of what John points out throughout
his writings are the miracles of Jesus Christ and how he saw Him give people
who were utterly hopeless confidence, grace, mercy and encouragement.
In chapter nine of the gospel of John we encounter one of my
personal favorite stories of how Jesus interacted with his disciples and the
people around him. Jesus and his disciples come upon a man who was born blind,
and in spiritual ignorance the disciples ask Jesus a very interesting question;
“Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind”. Well note that
the man was born blind so the answer to that question would clearly be his
parents if the question had any validity at all. But what makes this story so interesting
is two important factors: Jesus’ answer and the man’s response.
Jesus tells His disciples that it was not sin that caused
for this man to be born blind; to live his life blind and to have the effects
of a cruel world treat him poorly because he was blind but rather that the
WORKS OF GOD might be displayed in him. Jesus is answering the “Why” question
in this man’s life so that we who are still here and reading about this story
centuries later can apply it to our own lives. The reason his suffering was
attributed to his life was so that God may show himself to be real. So every
time we sit around and wonder “Why God is this happening to me” we can know
that somehow and some way it will be used for the glory of God if we are open
to it, accept it and then appreciate it.
To make a long story
short the man was healed by Jesus in a unique way. Jesus spat on the ground and
made mud with the saliva then he anointed the man’s eyes and told him to go to
the river and wash his face and he would be healed. Jesus always has a unique,
personal and specific way of doing the impossible in our lives if we are
willing and open to it. After the religious leaders heard what had happened
they begin to question the man and what had happened to him as if something was
wrong because his healing took place on the Sabbath day when according to the
law nothing was supposed to be done on that day. The zealous religious leaders
had questioned the man and his parents and insisted on trying to make Jesus out
to be a sinner but the second time that the asked the healed man to recount
what had happened the man gives the most beautiful answer to their question
that is wrapped up in powerful theology and personal reflection that we all can
learn from. He says listen I don’t know why your questioning me again and I don’t
know if this man Jesus is a sinner or not all I know is that my whole life I haven’t
been able to see anything. I have been an outcast and I have missed out on
seeing anything from the colors of the world to the faces of my family and now I
can see, so call him a sinner or whatever you want to call him but I am healed
and only Jesus Christ could do that.
At the basis of who we all are outside of the
labels we identify in is broken sinners. We all have a part of us that is
broken. We all have a chapter in our story that we wish didn’t take place but
it happened. We all need a healing. We all need to be forgiven, loved, accepted
and wanted. When Jesus meet this man and healed his sight that’s what he gave
him. It was more than just opening his eyes it was loving his soul. Whatever it
is today that your going
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