A Blind Man is Healed

John 9: 1 - 7 (NIV): As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.  As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

     The disciples made a couple of wrong assumptions. First, they assumed that someone sinned to cause the man to be born blind. Why else would God have allowed him to be born this way? Their only question was who sinned? Could this man have somehow sinned before he was born -- or was he being punished for sin his parents committed?

    This implies that God must be pleased with people who are doing really well. If we are ill or broke or injured, God must be upset with us. If things are going well, God must be happy with us. Simple.

    But Jesus busted this theory on the spot. He told them that no one sinned to cause the man to be born blind. He was born that way so that God could be glorified. He was born that way so Jesus could heal him and demonstrate his power in his life through the healing. It gave Jesus to opportunity to prove he was the Messiah. 

    Was this fair to the man -- to live the first years of his life in darkness so that Jesus could use him to demonstrate his power? We must realize that God is God and he is our creator. We wouldn't have life without him. We wouldn't be here if not for him. It is our privilege to serve him whatever it costs.

    But we have this promise from the Word: Paul tells us that all things work together for our own good if we belong to Jesus. It's not always easy to trust in God in all things, but it's always best.