Blind Men

Peaceful Waters (Lake Winona)

Blind Men

I was reading this morning in John 9 about the blind man who was born without sight, and his encounter with Jesus.  His disciples asked Jesus during this meeting if this man’s sins had caused his blindness.  They added to their question, “or was it because of his parents sin that this man was born blind?” Jesus responded by saying, neither he nor his parents have sinned which caused this blindness; he is blind so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 

Light in the Darkness

Upon further reflection, I began to think about this question that the disciples posed to Jesus.  There could have been a variety of motives in their question.  Some perhaps assumed that God worked in the same way in every situation, sins = illness. Yet, perhaps for some that stood there, it was a desire for affirmation in that they were right all along, “He is blind due to sin!”  For others, it might have been an honest desire to know how this man became blind.  As to their thinking, I cannot be sure.  For whatever their reasoning in asking Jesus, he was very patient with his followers, as he is with us. 

At times, our motives are clouded in our desire to know why things are the way they are; while at other times we ask with selfish motives knowing in our hearts that what we ask is wrong.  God though is patient with us in all that we inquire of him.  During our still moments, he invites us to look at our reasoning, and our motives.  At times, we feel convicted by our self-centered behavior.  God knows though, the right occasion in allowing us to be in the correct place for him to gently confront us with the truth. 

Finding Our Way

A counselor when meeting a client might understand their patient’s problem after the first sitting, but they know enough in that their own realization is only half the puzzle in helping their patient.  The next step is to slowly help them see for themselves, the way to enlightenment and self-discovery.  Jesus, as well, patiently waits for us to come to ourselves, to drop our facades and to be real with him.  At that point, our Lord can and does help us to find our way.  That is, to see through our blindness with aid of his enlightenment.