Blind man sat on the road and cried...

Thursday, September 06, 2007

As I continue my studying on the Gospels, I am amazed at the accounts that I come across that I never seemed to take notice of before. This morning I read John 10, the account of the blind man that was healed.

John tells us that this man was born blind, and people had witnessed this man begging for years. The disciples asked Jesus "Who sinned? Him or his parents that he was born blind?" Because in that day, physical afflictions were believed to be caused by sin. They should of read more of Job. But Jesus' reply is "Neither did!" and went on to explain why he was born blind...but we'll get to that later.

Long story short, Jesus gave the man his sight and it caused a huge uproar with the Pharisees and teachers of the law. So much so, they decided to investigate the matter and to further accuse Jesus of being a sinner. The once-blind man was called in to testify, then his parents (who were afraid of the Jews and decided that it was best for their son to fend for himself), and then they brought the once-blind man in again. What he says is amazing:

"Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." (verses 30-33)

Now, lets back track for a minute.

Why was this man born blind? Jesus tells us in verse 3:

"...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

Jesus then told me to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. John tells us the name Siloam means "sent". I don't think that was just an FYI note, but to tell us something: This man is now sent to tell about Jesus. And that's exactly what he does when he comes before the Pharisees--he testifies that Jesus is sent from God.

What can we glean from this? I think what I pick up the most, is that there are times when we feel inadequate. I feel like that everyday when I'm trying to figure out what in the world I'm going to plan.

Inadequacy...that's what we're supposed to feel. If we felt strong enough to do it on our own, why would we rely on God? When we're out on a limb, we are forced to say "God, you brought me to do this, please work through me and in me to do what you want me to do."

Thats why the man was born blind. He if he hadn't, he never would of had the opportunity to testify about Jesus. So yes, we all have weaknesses--but for a reason!

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." - 2nd Corinthians 12:9

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