Providing Sight for the Blind.

I stand at the foot of the cross looking past it up into the heavens, overawed by the might and wisdom and variety of creation, pointing to an amazing Creator. The story revealed in the Bible shows His commitment to restoring everything as it was in tended to be, the story of the cross as it unfolds to reveal the wonderful and intricate plan our Creator is busy unfolding and I am, we all are part of that!

”It is good that you can look at creation and look past it to what and Who it points to. The One who is behind everything, making everything come about, sustaining and maintaining it all. And, yes I have made it ultimately for My glory and for each one of you and your readers. The presence of man in the midst of My creation attests to the fact that you are central to that place and I seek My glory through you as you grow in grace and are ultimately glorified. There we will be joined together in a glory which you can’t even begin to imagine. So persevere – continue to persevere I am holding you all in My grace and love – working to bring all things together for My glory.”

Chapter 9 of John’s Gospel is strategically placed to teach and emphasise a truth which is repeated in many places in God’s word. That truth is that we are all spiritually blind and unable to see and experience His spiritual activities and to meet Him without Him giving us sight. John devotes a whole chapter to the healing of a blind man and an explanation of the spiritual significance of this act. It is placed more or less in the middle of the gospel after a long revelation of who Jesus is. He has been inviting the reader to decide who this Man is by taking us into that world to experience the story for him/herself. Now he makes the important point. No-one can understand all that without Jesus’s supernatural help.

The chapter has one main message but we will deal with it over two weeks. Today we will look at the actual healing and restoration of sight to a man born blind and hear Jesus speak through that.

The first question is,”why did Jesus choose this man? There were probably plenty of blind people in Palestine at the time. Why him?” This is an important question for each of us. We are all praying for some “miracle”. Someone to be healed, someone to be saved, a relationship restored etc. We see miraculous answers to other’s prayers and we ask ourselves, “What am I doing wrong? How can I pray otherwise to get the answer. Maybe there is something I must do or stop doing.” You get the drift?

A large part of the answer to that question lies wrapped up here. We are all invited to come to Jesus in prayer. To bring whatever is on our minds to Him. He promises and can be trusted to hear every word we call out to Him. Here is the crunch. It is His prerogative how and when He will answer. Each of us is unique and on a personal journey with Him and He is handling each plea in a way unique to us and our personality and needs. He hears the loud shouts of joy and of pain with absolute compassion. The quality of our lives belies His grace. He hears even the feeblest whimper of the smoking flax.

One thing He desires from us is humble surrender to Him and a desire to obey His will, as imperfect or weak as that may be. This is hugely liberating. It takes all the pressure off us. We can be our natural selves with Him at all times.

There is no explanation why Jesus put mud on his eyes and told him to wash publicly. Very likely He wanted him to be seen to provoke a response from the Jews. It was certainly not necessary for the healing. He did many other miracles without touching and even from a distance.

The other theme that becomes apparent is even the religious leaders were unable to accept and understand the miracle, even despite its obviousness. This is what sin and unbelief do. True blindness in the face of real sight.

We will pick up this story again next week. I would love to hear your experience of prayer and how God answers in the most unusual and unexpected ways. May He bless each one of you as you discover more about your relationship with Him.