The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 9:1-3,
"As he [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'"
How many times I have heard, when a believer became sick, or suffered some set-back or another, others accused the believer of harboring some sin in their life, or that he lacked sufficient faith.
Somehow or other, this notion - that since God loves us, he doesn't want us poor, does he?, he doesn't want us sick, does he? is the legacy of so many who fail to read their Bibles, at least read them in some sort of meaningful way. This assumption the Lord would never allow that one might suffer apart from some sin or lack of faith on their part fails to acknowledge a number of events and things we read of God in the pages of Scripture.
In this passage, Jesus' disciples engaged in the same poor theology we see abounding today. Since a man was born blind, and had not had the opportunity to commit his own personal sins, just whose sins were responsible for his blindness?
Jesus' answer is an indictment of all those who know so little of their God. As it turns out, yes, this man was born blind at God's intention. However, that intention had nothing to do with personal sin. Rather, he was born blind for the intent and purpose that "the works of God might be displayed in him." In other words, he was born blind for the day Jesus would cross his path and heal him, demonstrating his deity as well as challenging the theological grip of the Pharisees.
Apparently we still have folks among us today who are stuck in the same limited mindset.
Job's friends, millenia earlier, had engaged in the same poor theology and lack of understanding of the things of God. When the Lord handed Job over to Satan to demonstrate a point he was making to Satan, no one knew why Job was suffering. Certainly, Job and his friends had no way of knowing the conversation between God and Satan over Job, that God has those who remain loyal to him (unlike Satan) in spite of suffering or other set-backs. And, just as the Pharisees, and just like those who blame others for their suffering these days, Job's friends accused him of some sort of hidden sin. The account makes clear Job had not sinned in any way all throughout his ordeal.
It may behoove us to listen to Paul, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Romans 8:36, as he quoted Psalm 44:22. Paul's point in Romans is that we all need to expect to suffer, not due to personal sin, but to aid us in our spiritual growth. In Psalm 44 we see God's people suffering due to no fault of their own. It's a great psalm. Take time to read it today!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"As he [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'"
How many times I have heard, when a believer became sick, or suffered some set-back or another, others accused the believer of harboring some sin in their life, or that he lacked sufficient faith.
Somehow or other, this notion - that since God loves us, he doesn't want us poor, does he?, he doesn't want us sick, does he? is the legacy of so many who fail to read their Bibles, at least read them in some sort of meaningful way. This assumption the Lord would never allow that one might suffer apart from some sin or lack of faith on their part fails to acknowledge a number of events and things we read of God in the pages of Scripture.
In this passage, Jesus' disciples engaged in the same poor theology we see abounding today. Since a man was born blind, and had not had the opportunity to commit his own personal sins, just whose sins were responsible for his blindness?
Jesus' answer is an indictment of all those who know so little of their God. As it turns out, yes, this man was born blind at God's intention. However, that intention had nothing to do with personal sin. Rather, he was born blind for the intent and purpose that "the works of God might be displayed in him." In other words, he was born blind for the day Jesus would cross his path and heal him, demonstrating his deity as well as challenging the theological grip of the Pharisees.
Apparently we still have folks among us today who are stuck in the same limited mindset.
Job's friends, millenia earlier, had engaged in the same poor theology and lack of understanding of the things of God. When the Lord handed Job over to Satan to demonstrate a point he was making to Satan, no one knew why Job was suffering. Certainly, Job and his friends had no way of knowing the conversation between God and Satan over Job, that God has those who remain loyal to him (unlike Satan) in spite of suffering or other set-backs. And, just as the Pharisees, and just like those who blame others for their suffering these days, Job's friends accused him of some sort of hidden sin. The account makes clear Job had not sinned in any way all throughout his ordeal.
It may behoove us to listen to Paul, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Romans 8:36, as he quoted Psalm 44:22. Paul's point in Romans is that we all need to expect to suffer, not due to personal sin, but to aid us in our spiritual growth. In Psalm 44 we see God's people suffering due to no fault of their own. It's a great psalm. Take time to read it today!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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