Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I"); document.writeln("do know. I was blind but now I see!1
"); document.writeln("John 9 tells the story of a man who had been born blind. In"); document.writeln("the eyes of many in those days, sin and suffering were connected, so when Jesus"); document.writeln("and his disciples come across him the first question the disciples ask is, Who"); document.writeln("sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?2 Suffering"); document.writeln("was seen as punishment. Yet the reply Jesus gives to his disciples not only challenges"); document.writeln("this erroneous view but gives us a new way to look at suffering. Jesus said, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the"); document.writeln("works of God might be displayed in him.3 Jesus challenged his"); document.writeln("disciples to look for God amid the suffering.
"); document.writeln("The reactions in this case are interesting. His neighbors ask"); document.writeln("what happened that now he can see, so he tells them all that Jesus had him do."); document.writeln("But instead of being happy for him and celebrating the healing work of God,"); document.writeln("they bring him to the Pharisees to see if they can make some sense of all this."); document.writeln("And what is the first thing the some of the Pharisees say? This man is not"); document.writeln("from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. I feel like Jesus intentionally"); document.writeln("healed people on the Sabbath because he knew how much it bothered the"); document.writeln("Pharisees!
"); document.writeln("The Pharisees questioned the blind man, his parents, and"); document.writeln("then called for the blind man a second time trying to get him to confess to"); document.writeln("Jesus being a sinner, which is the verse above picks up. This man knew he was blind and now he could see! This man gets brave and"); document.writeln("in verse 30 tells the Pharisees, This is amazing! You claim to know nothing"); document.writeln("about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! It is well known that God is not"); document.writeln("at the beck and call of sinners but listens carefully to anyone who lives in"); document.writeln("reverence and does his will\'€¦ if this man did not come from God, he would not be"); document.writeln("able to do anything. Wow! I would have loved to be there to witness this. The"); document.writeln("Pharisees got so mad after that, they threw him out into the street!
"); document.writeln("The Pharisees were so knowledgeable when it came to the law"); document.writeln("of Moses, but they were completely blind to the love and grace of God. This"); document.writeln("blind man had most likely been judged all his life because of the sin he or"); document.writeln("his parents had done to deserve his punishment. He did not know all the law, but"); document.writeln("he was able to see Jesus clearly and experience the grace of God in such an"); document.writeln("amazing way.
"); document.writeln("If you are experiencing suffering, look for God in the midst"); document.writeln("of it. It is not easy, but trust that God is working. And if you are an"); document.writeln("observer of someone suffering, remember that grace and love go beyond"); document.writeln("our understanding. Be like Jesus to those around you.
"); document.writeln("Suggested prayer: Dear God, it is easy to view things"); document.writeln("through our limited understanding and miss out on the larger plan you are"); document.writeln("working. We see messiness and immediately feel the need to make"); document.writeln("sense of it or fix it. Open my eyes to your will in every situation. When"); document.writeln("suffering comes to my life, help me look for you in the midst of it and trust"); document.writeln("that you love me and walk with me always. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
"); document.writeln("The Encounter for today was written by: Crystal B.
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This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.
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