Lessons from John 9

Monday, June 15, 2015

Well, I skipped Sunday, but I'll get back to that another day. I wasn't going to blog today, but I felt compelled to open my journal. When I opened to my quiet time reading and reflections from Monday, June 15th, it is looking a lot like Jim's sermon from today - I can't believe it didn't occur to me during church! Maybe that's why God prompted me to open my journal. I don't know if I'm the one who needs this lesson today or someone else, so I'm sharing today!

"Today I read John 9

We see "broken people," illness and brokenness, and we want to know who's to blame. Jesus responds clearly that it is so that God's work may be evident in his life and He heals him.

How much time have we lost looking for the cause of problems, of sin, instead of loving people and letting Jesus be the light in their lives? Here in the Dominican Republic, there are so many children without fathers. The influence of fathers and adult men is so bad that the Dominican government prefers to place children with a single mother instead of two parents. A generation without a father needs THE Father. There is no need to find who's to blame, we need to share Jesus with them, to teach them to be parents, to love as God loves, to teach the children how valued and loved they are by their heavenly Father.

The man born blind in John 9 was no doubt rejected by society, pushed aside as one who had nothing to offer. Yet having only just been healed by Jesus, he defended his Healer, undauntedly, to the religious authorities. Even his parents were afraid of their powerful influence, but he was changed in more ways than one.

We see time and again that those who are healed, cleaned by Jesus, are empowered. The woman at the well in John 4 would be another example of someone who should have doubted herself or her ability to stand up to society, yet she couldn't be silent about her encounter with Jesus. We are cleaned and healed by Jesus and are empowered too. We are emboldened, there are no barriers to sharing our experience!

I also find it interesting the blind man, despite not having much knowledge of the scriptures presented the gospel clearly and ably to his accusers, the masters of God's word in that day. Don't get me wrong, it is good to read the bible regularly and know it well - it is how we learn what God's will for us is and it is how He speaks to us today! However, in order to share the gospel, all we must do is know Jesus and tell of His work in our lives.

In verses 30-33, the man tells what Jesus has done and reasons that He must be from God. Let's not reject God's word as the Pharisees did because He uses someone "less than perfect" to reach out to us. Let's look at the works He has done and believe in Him!"