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God Is Always Ready to Hear

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.” “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.””
John 9:28-33 NLT

Mr Blind-no-more wasn’t afraid to stand up to the Pharisees, unlike his parents. The Pharisees argued that because they didn’t know where Jesus had come from, then His miraculous act of healing lacked validity. They maintained that it couldn’t have been God, or anyone representing Him, who performed the miracle, because whoever did it should have first checked things out with them and obtained their seal of approval. The Pharisees’ view of God was boxed in by their interpretation of the Law of Moses. But Mr Blind-no-more had a different logic. He said that regardless of the Pharisees’ opinion, which was, “If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” He went further by turning the Pharisees’ logic around and said that regardless of where Jesus had come from, He must have come from God to perform such a miraculous healing. 

In the middle of the exchange, Mr Blind-no-more said that “God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will”. Such a view was commonplace in the legalistic environment of those days, that God listened to those who were for Him, and He didn’t listen to those who were against Him. So according to the Pharisees, if Jesus was a sinner, the miracle, if it happened, couldn’t have been from God. 

Does God only listen to the prayers of a righteous person? If we believe that then we are doing what the Pharisees did – we have put God in a box. God is compassionate, loving, and gracious, and He will do what He considers to be right. And if He answers the prayers of someone who doesn’t believe in Him, then that is His prerogative. Quite why such a person would pray to Him is perhaps academic, because there are unbelievers’ prayers heard by God in the Old Testament. In Genesis 21 we can read the story of Hagar and her son Ishmael. Or the people of Nineveh in Jonah 3. In times past, desperate people have cried out to God for relief from their situation. Sometimes He answered. In. 1 John 5:14, we read, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” Perhaps that verse also applies to anyone, believers or not, who pray in accordance with His will. 

Sadly today we in the UK are living in an increasingly secular society. And the names of God and His Son are only used in expletive phrases. People fail to believe that he exists, their minds blinded by the enemy and his servants who come up with all sorts of theories (for example, evolution?) that try and explain the world around us. And instead of turning to God when circumstances dictate, they even turn their back on Him and some even go to occultism for a remedy. It must break God’s heart to see such happenings, as it did in Genesis 6:6, “So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart”. But there will come a day when God will be universally acknowledged. Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

We pilgrims love the Lord. We are His children and we know that He listens to our prayers. Of course, every cry for help will not always be answered in the way we desire, because we live in a fallen and sinful world, but God is always there for us in our times of trouble. And by faith in Him, we are overcomers, rising above our circumstances. 

Dear God. We thank You that You always hear our prayers. And whatever our circumstances we acknowledge that You have our interests at heart. We praise You today. Amen.

Disciples

Posted on by korgrocker

““Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.””
John 9:27-29 NLT

We pilgrims associate being a disciple with following Jesus, and this consists of two parts – our personal development to become more like Jesus through applying His teaching in our own lives, and by spreading the Good News about Him to all we meet, as the opportunities arise. But discipleship isn’t just restricted to following Jesus. It is possible to become a disciple of anyone who attracts us by their teaching and ways of life. In Jesus’ day many people became disciples of the Pharisees, following their rigid and unloving ways without question. And in turn, the Pharisees claimed to be disciples of Moses. However, Mr Blind-no-more had become a bit irritated by the Pharisees because they were determined to find some flaw that would enable them to reject his testimony. But he was having none of their nonsense and he accused them, perhaps sarcastically, of wanting to become disciples of Jesus, like he had become. The Pharisees’ response was astonishing – John recorded that “they cursed him”. Hardly the behaviour of people who claimed to be religious leaders and examples to the people.

The Pharisees in our verses today declared that they were disciples of Moses. We know much about Moses from the Old Testament accounts and he is thought to have written the first five books of the Bible, probably with the help of a scribe like Joshua. He was the only person who ever spoke to God face to face, and God’s teachings, messages and laws formed the basis of the Jewish faith. But unfortunately the Pharisees had turned this into a matter of following the letter of the Law rather than its intent. Moses wrote what God commanded in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength”. But in common with many followers of religions, the Pharisees picked out the bits they liked and ignored what they didn’t. 

The Pharisees claimed that they didn’t know where Jesus had come from. With the benefit of hindsight we know of His origins today, and with a bit of effort, the Pharisees could have found out as well. But they weren’t interested. As far as they were concerned, Jesus was preaching a message that conflicted with their views. To accept that message would mean abandoning their way of life and take a leap of faith that was beyond their collective abilities or desires. 

We pilgrims are disciples of Jesus and we do our best to follow Him. But the road to our promised land is far from easy, and the teachings Jesus left us with us are seemingly impossible except for two factors. The Holy Spirit resides within each one of us and, as Jesus said in John 16:13, He will lead us into all truth, not just in the future but in the present as well. The second factor is God’s grace, always there when we stumble and fall. Being disciples in our own strength and coming up to God’s standard is well-nigh impossible, but with God and all His resources there to help us it becomes a joy. We don’t know what the future holds for us disciples but we journey on, following in the Master’s footsteps.

Disciples we are, and we obey the Master’s command to make disciples, as we read in Matthew 28, “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Introducing another person to Jesus is a humbling privilege and one that causes great joy in Heaven.


Dear Lord Jesus, we are humbled by the awesome opportunity of being Your disciples. We pray for the strength to stay the course until we reached the goal all disciples strive for. In Your name we pray. Amen.

“Didn’t You Listen”

Posted on by korgrocker

“So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?” “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?””
John 9:24-27 NLT

What made the Pharisees think that Jesus was a sinner? After all, how could the Son of God ever be accused of such a thing? The reason was that the Pharisees had their own definition about sin, and for them it was founded on the Law of Moses and their many Rabbinic rules and regulations, correct or otherwise, that they had derived from it. They didn’t like Jesus’ claim that He was the Son of God and therefore they accused Him of the sin of blasphemy. The problem for them, however, was His miraculous signs and wonders, and that His teaching that the only way to eternal life was through Him and not just by observing their laws. The last thing the Pharisees wanted was to lose their religious control over the people.

Mr Blind-no-more quite correctly pointed out to the Pharisees that their accusation of sin against Jesus was irrelevant. They had been told that the man was born blind, but could now see, and it was all because Jesus put mud on his eyes. The side issue of accusations of sin didn’t change the facts, although this introduced another problem for the Pharisees – how could someone who claimed to be God’s Son, and the Messiah who they had been waiting for, be a sinner? 

In desperation, the Pharisees asked Mr Blind-no-more a second time about what happened, just in case they found a new snippet of information that resolved their dilemma. But this time they received a tetchy response. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen?”.Unfortunately for them, the man then put his finger on the issue staring them in the face – if this healing happened as they had been told then they had no choice other than to acknowledge Jesus’ claim for who He was, and become His disciples. No human being could ever have healed a man born blind unless God was behind it. 

We pilgrims have seen the risen Lord, and believe in Him. We are His disciples but we remember the life-changing moment when we made that decision for Christ.  We weren’t anyone special. We weren’t religious leaders like the Pharisees. But regardless of the consequences, we took that step into the Kingdom of God, a place that, for many, is fraught with danger and difficulties. A new believer would perhaps be marginalised in their workplaces. Or in danger of attack from their neighbours who follow a different faith. A child of God pursues a path towards holiness and turns his or her back on the pleasures of sin. For many though, taking that leap of faith is too much and, like the rich man in the parable of the Rich Young Ruler, they walk away. It is their choice but God will never give up on loving people. His grace is available right up until the moment when they take their last breath. 

We don’t know if the Pharisees in our account of the blind man and his healing ever became believers in Jesus. We know of course about Nicodemus, from an earlier chapter in John’s Gospel. But neither do we know about those people today who stubbornly all their life have refused to accept Jesus’ gracious invitation to believe in Him. We don’t know what happened in those last moments of their life. I am always touched and greatly encouraged about the last moments of the thief on the cross. We read in Luke 23:40-43, “But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”” We pilgrims must never give up on our friends and family. We don’t know what will happen in their last moments of life, and we pray for them in faith that God will answer our prayers.

Dear Father God. You are so patient and kind, loving us graciously as we thrash about ignoring or avoiding Your gaze. Please forgive us, we pray. Amen.

Truth and Glory

Posted on by korgrocker

“So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.””
John 9:24 NLT

The Pharisees made two erroneous assumptions when they called Mr Blind-no-more into their forum for a second time. They first of all suggested that he hadn’t told everything about what had happened, implying that he was a liar, and secondly, they accused Jesus of being a sinner. They were wrong on both counts. Saying that “God should get the glory for this” does not mean that God should be glorified because of the miraculous healing that had taken place, but it was the equivalent of promising before God to ”tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”, as is said in British courts of law. 

The Pharisees couldn’t accept something as simple as what in fact happened. Jesus made mud from His saliva, spread it onto the man’s eyes, and told him to go and wash in a particular pool. When he had done that his sight was restored. A correct and truthful statement of facts. But for something as miraculous as that to happen so simply was too much for the Pharisees. They would at least have expected a visitation of angels, a public demonstration of some kind, and all authorised by the religious leaders with much prayer and incantations. To be blind-sided by this by someone who made what was to them blasphemous claims about Himself was an insult to their positions as religious leaders in the Jewish society. So the Pharisees assumed that the healing couldn’t have happened in the way Mr Blind-no-more described. What followed was a second attempt to extract the “truth” from the man before them.

The Pharisees went on to say that Jesus was a sinner. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As we pilgrims know, Jesus, who was without sin, became sin on our behalf, taking our punishment of death, all so that we could put on His righteousness before God. The divine exchange. What a Saviour! But the Pharisees were having none of His claims. They disputed the truth of Jesus’ statements that he was the Son of God, even in the face of miracles and signs that could not have come from someone of purely human origins. Every miracle committed by Jesus over and over again confronted their unbelief and animosity. To believe in Him was in effect abdicating their religious authority, handing it over to where it should have been all along, in the hands of God. 

Mr Blind-no-more told the truth and Jesus was the only sinless Man who has ever walked this planet. By their own admission the Pharisees made claims that, unless repented of beforehand, ensured their judgement in the fullness of time. We give God the glory for Jesus and all He did for us during His time here in this world. And we take heart from the example of Mr Blind-no-more who stayed faithful to the truth even in the face of aggressive questioning. 

Dear Father God. We praise You today and give You the glory for all Your works here in this world. We thank You that even today Your healings continue because of Your love and grace. We praise You today. Amen. 

He Is Old Enough

Posted on by korgrocker

“The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?” His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.””
John 9:18-23 NLT

How old is “old enough”? In orthodox Jewish practices, a boy reaches manhood at the age of 13, and a girl at the age of 12. We find Jesus in the Temple at the age of 12 – we read in Luke 2, “And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. …. And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”” (Luke 2:42, 49). In Exodus 30:14, the age of 20 was proposed as the minimum age allowing someone to present a sacred offering. In modern UK society, there are various age restrictions. At 14, a teenager can get a part time job. At 16, they can claim benefits, drive a moped and order a passport. 17 is the age when a driving licence for a car can be obtained. At 18, alcohol can be purchased and you are allowed to vote or get married without a parent’s permission. At 21, all age restrictions are removed and adulthood is reached. But in all this, there is a big difference between what is permitted and what a young person is capable of. One thing there is no restriction on is the age when a child or adult can decide to follow Jesus. Many children make a decision for Christ in their primary years and set the scene for the rest of their lives from that point. 

In our account in John 9, the parents of Mr “Blind-no-more” failed to take any responsibility for their son’s healing and the events that followed. They gave the Pharisees the facts as they knew them, that their son had really been born blind, that they were not involved in his healing, and, they said to the Pharisees, “Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself”. This puts Mr “Blind-no-more” at least at an age of more than 13, but in reality the impression was that the man was a mature adult, who was forced to beg for a living. John also records that the parents of the man were afraid of being excluded from the synagogue, something that could have had a serious and detrimental effect on their ability to do business and be an effective member of that society. The Pharisees had one trump card in their hold over the people, and that was synagogue membership, and they leveraged this by saying that anyone who went on to believe in Jesus and affirm that He was the Messiah would be excommunicated. 

We pilgrims, like everyone else, are on a journey through life. However, we have one clear distinction over unbelievers, in that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We are God’s children, and can enjoy all the benefits that Kingdom membership brings. God has children of all ages, and no-one is excluded because they aren’t old enough. In Matthew 19:13-14 we read, “One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children””. There has always been a special place in God’s heart for children. Anyone who is old enough to understand about Jesus and what He did for us can decide to follow Him, and there is no fear of being rejected at the foot of the Cross because of age. God will never turn away a repentant sinner, regardless of how old they are. 

Father God. We thank You for the Gospel and how it includes everyone regardless of age, race, skin colour, and ability. Whatever our age was when we came to believe in Jesus, we know that You never rejected us. Thank You. Amen.

Opinions

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?” The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.””
John 9:17 NLT

If we stood in Mr “Blind-no-more’s” shoes today, who would we have thought Jesus was? After all, we would have just been healed of an incurable condition – blindness – by someone smearing mud over our eyes. No hospital, no medics, no puffs of smoke and flashes of light, no lengthy prayers. No fuss, just a simple instruction to go and wash our faces. We would be confused because something like this just doesn’t happen that way. And to our Western sensitivities, the use of saliva being applied to our eyes is even a bit offensive.

So, if we now move our feet into the Pharisees’ shoes, what would we have thought “about this man who healed” the blind man. Here we are, important men who form the religious court of our day, and who are the ones who interpret the Law of Moses and guide the people. We ensure that the people don’t do anything that offends God and that could be construed as sin, bringing even more divine retribution to the nation. So along comes a Man who preaches a message that the only way to God and gaining eternal life was by believing in Him. And to back His message, He accomplishes amazing miraculous works of healing. But here lies our quandary – if we do say that he is from God, then we have to tear up our rule books and become His disciples. If we say He is not from God, then we have to explain how He does these miraculous signs. And we can’t. And to add to the problem, some of our colleagues are starting to believe in Him.

 Mr “Blind-no-more” was asked for his opinion about the man who healed him. If he had come right out and said the Man was Jesus, God’s Son, and the Messiah the Jews were waiting for, then he would experience the wrath of the Pharisees, and might even be stoned. But he couldn’t just let the matter go, because the Pharisees were demanding an answer. So he picked the middle ground and said Jesus was a prophet. A description that wouldn’t cause him any difficulties, or so he hoped. 

Today, if we did a survey and asked people who Jesus was, we would at best receive a response acknowledging that He was a historical figure who founded Christianity. We might occasionally find someone who confessed that Jesus was their Lord and Saviour. And, increasingly, we might find people who just don’t know, or say He was perhaps a Brazilian footballer or some other sportsman with that name. But if we asked ourselves who Jesus was, then, because we believe in Him, a whole new world opens up. In John 10:9, we read on one occasion what Jesus said about Himself, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” We may not have experienced a miraculous healing like Mr “Blind-no-more”, but we do know that it is only by believing in Jesus that we will find the door that leads into the Kingdom of God. We thank God for the miracles that He does, even today. And because we love Jesus, we go out and invite others to enter the door that leads to eternal life. There is only one door. The other world religions haven’t found it, even though they claim otherwise. 

So back to the question – who is this Man? He is Jesus, the Son of God, and it is only by believing in Him that we will find peace for our souls in this life and forever after. 

Dear Father God. Our opinion of You increases more and more as we journey through our life. We never ceased to wonder about Your amazing works. We worship You today. Amen.

“Blind-No-More”

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.”
John 9:13-16 NLT

We don’t know how many Pharisees were present when the man who had been blind was brought before them. We don’t know his name and for centuries he has only been identified by his healing, not by who he really was. In Old Testament times names were often granted to children to mark an occasion or message appropriate to what was happening at the time. In Hosea 1 we read of children being born to Gomer being assigned names as part of Hosea’s prophetic message to his fellow people. Names such as “Not-loved” and “Not-my-people”. In times nearer our own we have seen names granted for a profession, such as “Lamb” for a butcher or “Gardener” for someone who has that job. So perhaps the new name for the man at the centre of this account should be “Blind-no-more”. But whatever we call him, the people, his friends and neighbours, were so confused that they took him to the Pharisees, especially because they were very sensitive to anything that might be construed as working on the Sabbath day. That spitting on the ground and making a little mud ointment should be classed as “work” is perhaps an indication of the hold the Pharisees had over the general population. 

Mr “Blind-no-more” must have been getting fed up with repeatedly having to tell people what had happened to him, even those who had previously heard his account. This act of healing by a Man who preached a message counter to that of the Pharisees had introduced so much confusion amongst them that we are told there was “a deep division of opinion”. 

We pilgrims have read this account of the miraculous healing so many times that we are in danger of becoming desensitised to the wonder of it. This was really a big deal, because someone who was born blind not only lacked functioning eyes but also they lacked that part of the brain that processes the visual images into a form where they could be understood. At an early age a child starts to see the world around him and their brain develops with the need to interpret what they see. And then think about the connection between different parts of the brain – consider what is involved in seeing a ball coming towards us and having the eye/hand co-ordination to catch it. Perhaps healing the blind man’s eyes was only a part of the miracle that happened to him that day. And so we stand in Mr Blind-no-more’s shoes and try and imagine how he felt. John’s account was a dispassionate précis of what had happened, factually correct, but I imagine Mr Blind-no-more was euphoric, excited and rushing around telling everyone what had happened to him. He wasn’t concerned that this had happened on the Sabbath day. Neither was he concerned about what other people were saying about it. As far as he was concerned, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” And so we take a step back, looking on at the scene that was unfolding before us, marvelling at God’s power, grace, compassion and love.

Dear Lord Jesus. We read that this miraculous healing took place so that the power of God could be seen in the blind man. And we indeed give God all the glory for this, and the many other occasions when You Brough healing to a lost and hopeless people. Thank You for Your love and compassion. Amen.

Go and Wash

Posted on by korgrocker

“They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied.“
John 9:10-12 NLT

The events that took place that Sabbath day caused quite a stir in the blind man’s community. It was unheard of for a blind man to receive his sight and the people there wanted an explanation. They knew the man had been blind because, after all, he had been born in that community. He had grown up there, and he now had to survive by abandoning any hope of personal dignity or respect and beg for alms, for money. There was no safety net of state handouts, and people in those days who were unable to work either begged for the money they needed to live on or they died. These poor unfortunate people were not like the beggars we meet on the streets in our towns and cities here in the UK. These were desperate people who cried out for alms as their fellow countrymen walked past. 

The blind man’s life had been turned upside down by his encounter with Jesus. He had to adapt to a whole new way of living, and would now have to work for his livelihood, perhaps labouring in the fields or some other manual task. And his first challenge was to convince those in his community that he was now a different man. The people around him had to adjust as well, because the man no longer blind was a living and walking challenge to their religious complacency. The religion they followed was not powerful enough to heal a blind man, but they had heard about this Man who claimed to be the Son of God and who could heal the sick, the blind and the lame. And this Man said to them that He also had the power to assure them of eternal life if they believed in Him. 

So the people interrogated the man to try and ascertain if there was some trickery going on. “How did He do it?”, they asked. The response was factual and so matter of fact that it must have been true. The man’s testimony has leapt from these pages in John 9 for two thousand years or so, encouraging and challenging all who read them.

The man was healed because he obeyed what Jesus had told him to do. Are we pilgrims equally as obedient. Let me ask a question – what has Jesus told us to do that we haven’t done yet? It may be something lacking the drama of that Sabbath day in Jerusalem, but important nevertheless. The blind man had a choice about obeying Jesus’ command, “go and wash”. And we too have a choice. On our discipleship pilgrimage wen will often come up against boulders that block our way forward. Many will camp there and give up the journey, saying this Christian life is too hard. But us hardy pilgrims reach out to God for His grace and strength to be overcomers. The apostle Paul wrote, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). We have the power within us, to be applied with faith and fortitude. And before us the boulders will turn out to be no more than a pebble on the ground.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your strength and resources. We have not suffered in the way that Paul did on his missionary journeys, but we have challenges nevertheless. We are soldiers of Christ, able to press on His name. Amen.

Eye Contact

Posted on by korgrocker

“He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing! His neighbours and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?””
John 9:7-10 NLT

A blind person has many disadvantages and amongst them is the lack of ability in making eye contact with someone they are conversing with. For those of us with normal sight, eye contact is something we take for granted, not always appreciating how important it is when we interact with someone. We receive non-verbal feedback, helping us to understand what is being said. Maintaining eye contact demonstrates confidence, giving weight to what we are saying. So often we look into another person’s eyes and it is as though we are looking into their very souls. But a blind person cannot achieve the same results in a conversation unless they learn to compensate in some other way.

Our eyes are a primary source of information, feeding our minds with all that we see. Jesus said, “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is” (Matthew 6:22-23). We need to process all that comes in through our eyes in a healthy way, discerning what is bad for us so that we can filter it out and leave the good. Eyes that focus on sinful images will end up darkening our souls and shutting out the good things we need to focus on.

A blind person in many ways is unable to allow bad things to enter their eye gate. They can’t watch pornography, or movies that are unwholesome. But their lives are the poorer for being unable to see the good things in life. A sunrise or sunset. The wonderful beauty of flowers in Spring. God created us to have eyes that see all that He has made. 

In the account of the blind man, the man’s neighbours were finding it hard to recognise him, because he was now engaging them with his eyes. Whereas before he looked anywhere except at them, he was now focusing on their faces and this new ability transformed him so much that his neighbours were having difficulty recognising him.

God sees all and we cannot escape his gaze. He sees right into our souls, knowing every detail of our lives. And we can look into His face, in faith that the contact through our eyes is a part of our communication with Him. John’s spiritual eyes saw amazing scenes in Heaven, as we read in Revelation. And we too can enjoy a glimpse of Heavenly realms, through the reading of Scripture. Unless our eyes read the Bible we will learn nothing about God and His ways. And in faith we pray, “seeing” with our eyes the positive outcome of our prayers. But in our spirits what are we seeing today? If very little we lift up our eyes and make eye contact with our Heavenly Father. There we will find all we need to see.

Dear Father God. Thank You for all Your good gifts, all Your answers to our prayers, and for Jesus, our wonderful and gracious Saviour. Amen.

Faith in Action

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!”
John 9:6-7 NLT

Imagine myself in the position of the blind man. I could hear a man having a conversation with some other men about the cause of my blindness. Then one of the men, who seemed to be the leader, came over to me and I heard Him spit on the ground. A few moments later He smeared something gritty and unpleasant on my eyes. But there was something about this Man. He told me to go and wash off whatever was on my eyes in the Pool of Siloam. I knew where it was of course, so slowly and carefully, I made my way there, occasionally assisted by people on the way. People were asking me why I had mud on my face, but I carried on regardless. I finally got to the Pool and made my way into the water, finding a way although there were others there too. I started to wash the mud off my eyes and a strange thing started to happen. For the first time I was conscious of light appearing before me and as I washed it got stronger and stronger until I was aware of my surroundings. I could see! As it that wasn’t amazing enough, I knew what things were even though I had never seen them before. I had been aware of people but I could now see them. And the colours! Words could not express how I felt. I just had to get back and find out more about the Man who had smeared that mud on my eyes. 

But words cannot adequately describe the experience of the blind-no-more man. It wasn’t like a sore finger that healed. This was a miraculous event that transformed the lives of the man, his family, and all those who knew him. No more having to beg. No more having to depend on his parents and well-meaning friends and family for the basics of life. No more times of self-pity and even anger, as others seemed so much more blessed than he did. But what if he had refused to go and wash his face in that particular pool, instead heading for the nearest source of water, using that instead? What if he had reacted angrily to the indignity of someone smearing mud on his face? But there were no shortcuts. The man dutifully did as the Man had told him – go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. That took faith.

In 2 Kings 5 there is the story of Naaman, an important man in charge of the king of Aram’s army. He had leprosy, and ended up at Elishah’s door, expecting to be healed of his affliction. Elisha told him to go and wash 7 times in the River Jordan. Though initially reluctant to follow Elishah’s instructions, he was persuaded by his army officers to do what he was told to do, and through the grace of God, Elisha’s faith, and his obedience, he was healed.

Sometimes God will ask us to do something, and in the process, He will strengthen our faith. All through the Gospels we can see how Jesus tested a person’s, or a people’s, obedience leading to a miraculous sign. There was no way a pot of water could become a very good wine, but the servants obediently dipped in a ladle and in front of their eyes it became wine. They could have refused, considering it an insult to their intelligence. The blind man could have refused to walk through a Jerusalem crowded with people because he had mud on his face and probably looked a bit weird. The man lying on his mat at the Pool of Bethesda, could have ignored Jesus’ instruction to get up and pick up his mat and walk away. Perhaps God has asked us to do something to unlock a healing or some other requirement that we have been praying about. But in the process of being obedient to God’s command we might have to cast aside our pride. Naaman, an important man at the head of an army, is told to go and wash in a muddy river not once but seven times. And in front of all his subordinates. That took courage. So, what is God asking us to do today? Sorry, did I hear You right, God? You really want me to …?

Dear Father God. Please increase our faith to equip us to be totally obedient to You and be You want us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.