Good day dear friends.
We had a wonderful Sunday as we welcomed The Rev. Leslie Tomlinson and her husband, Kit Tomlinson, as part of our ministry team. Pastor Leslie preached on John 9 and we were blessed in hearing her message. We'll continue focusing on her theme of "I Once Was Blind, But Now I See." I had selected Hymn 98, "To God Be The Glory" during the week and as we sang it I became aware that it was written by Fanny J. Crosby who at the age of six weeks was blinded. Never one to receive pity, she held the hope that upon her death the first face she would ever see would be that of her Savior. Her faith and hope are captured in the many of the hymns we sing. Her being sightless did not stop her from being a blessing or from seeing blessings so many of us take for granted.
We will concentrate on different parts of this chapter each day of this week, and we'll begin with the first seven verses.
Here is that text in The Message version of The Bible:
1 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" 3 Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. 4 We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. 5 For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world's Light." 6 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man's eyes, 7 and said, "Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "Sent"). The man went and washed - and saw."
The disciples, having Jesus as their source of knowledge about so many things, especially the things of God, as they came upon a man born blind wanted to know if this blindness was a result of sin. "Were his parents sinners and thus their child was born blind?" or "Was this man a sinner that he lost his sight?" We have to believe it was later that they discovered the man had been born without sight. But it was an honest question. Does our sinfulness cause us to suffer, even to the point of losing our sight? Jesus answered them by saying the right thing, "You're looking for someone to blame." And we could spend hours debating who is to blame for almost everything, but what Jesus says is wonderful: "Look instead for what God can do." Back to the life of that awesome Christian hymn writer, she never stopped praising her God because she was blind. Instead she looked for ways to serve God and to make God's name known. In a situation that might have stopped most of us from fully living, she came to life.
In the story John tells us, Jesus wants the disciples to see the power of God at work even in those born without sight. He spits on the ground, makes a mud paste and applies it to the eyes of the man. The Son of the Creator, like His Father, uses his fingers and the dust to make something new. Keep in mind the reference to Genesis 2 when "the Lord God formed man out of the ground." After the man has the mud on his eyes he is told to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. No complaining about how dare you get your saliva in my eyes! Or what do I need mud in my eye, now I have to walk all the way to the pool to wash this junk off! The man obeys and receives his sight.
We tend to overlook another of the "I am" declarations found in this passage. Remember it is John's Gospel that has many of Jesus' declarations about who he really is. Here Jesus again makes a declaration and it is found in verse 5, "I am the light of the world." It's an appropriate remark given they were dealing with a man living his life in total darkness. Jesus wants the disciples to see that He brings light to the world and is the light of the world. To the man born in darkness to receive the gift of sight was to make the leap from darkness to light. As we'll discover later in the passage, he also made the leap from nominal faith to full faith in Jesus.
Where are we this day? Are we living our lives in darkness, busy complaining about the dim light or no light at all? Or are we using what we have to praise God and make God known to all?
PRAYER: God of light and power, come to us today in a way that brings us to life. Let us glorify you with all we have. Let the light of Christ Jesus be seen in us today and all days. We pray in Jesus' precious name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
