John 9:1-12
9:1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said. [1]
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Why do bad things happen to people? This was the question that the disciples were asking Jesus about the man born blind Whose sin led to his blindness? Was it his parents or his own?
I have been asked this question many times over the years in a variety of ways. “What did I do to deserve this?” “How can such things happen to good people?” “Why did God let this happen?” These are painful questions, arising from deep disappointment and loss. And then when someone looks to himself or herself as the cause of the tragic loss, the pain is joined with guilt.
These questions lead us deep into the mystery of God, His will and His love. To respond fully is well beyond the scope of this devotion. But I would point to Jesus’ answer as a place to begin. Jesus directs His disciples to consider how God might be glorified in this man’s blindness. We often do not know the reasons for the suffering going on around us and in us. But ultimately, all things will be used by God for His glory and for the good of His people.
In the case of the man born blind, we can see quite readily how God is glorified as Jesus healed him and ultimately leads him to faith. The resulting conflict with the Pharisees also has been used to teach important truths about Jesus for 2000 years. Clearly God was glorified through this man’s blindness.
But often it is not so apparent. All too often it seems, we can see know way in which a tragic circumstance is giving glory to God and is bringing good to His people. But in these times, we are called to faith that it is so. Faith that the one who transformed the tragedy of the cross into the glory of the resurrection, who transformed the tragedy of death into the glory of the new creation, is at work. We are called to faith that He is at work in whatever we are experiencing, and that He is at work in us.
Lord Jesus, help me keep in mind when going through hard times, or seeing tragedies around me, that You are at work in ways beyond my comprehension, for the good of Your people and for Your glory. Help me to trust in You.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Jn 9:1–12). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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