Friday, January 11, 2013

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Friday, January 11, 2013  I Healed a Blind Beggar  

Page 161-163         John 9:1-41

Jesus’ disciples asked him if the man was blind because of some sin he had committed, or was he blind because of some sin committed by his parents.

When sin entered the world, God’s grand design was fractured. The perfection of God’s creation was altered. God is working to bring about a New Creation, where His perfection will be restored. Until the New Creation fully comes, we are living in a broken world where cancer, birth defects, and physical disabilities, which did not exist in God’s first creation, are now prevalent in our world. When Christ comes again in final victory, the world will again flourish in the glory which God first intended for his creation.

That explanation is not sufficient for many people. Some of Jesus’ disciples envisioned a world where God punished the sins of people by putting deformity or blindness on their children. That vision of the world is also embraced by some religions that believe in reincarnation. Through their belief in cause and effect, if you live a bad life, you will be punished by being born into ‘bad’ circumstances in your next life.

Jesus’ response to his disciples affirms the promise of God to the Prophet Ezekiel, where God said he does not does punish a person for the sins of their parents. (Ezekiel 18:19-20) Then Jesus said to his disciples, let me give you another sign that God is at work establishing His New Creation. Jesus then touches the man and his blindness is banished. He had been blind, but now he sees.

Jesus initiated the healing of the man that had been blind from birth. The man didn’t ask to be healed, and he made no confession of faith. There are indeed times when God takes the first step, where God goes where God has not been invited. God is sovereign and demonstrates His grace and power when and where He chooses.

As I noted when Jesus intervened in the case of the woman and the Pharisees in John 8, when God demonstrates His grace, a response is required. The man, who had been blind, after hearing Jesus’ affirmation that he was the Messiah, chose to believe. The Pharisees chose to disbelieve.

Underlying all the responses to Jesus’ healing of the blind man is the issue of expectations. The people did not have an expectation that God could change lives.  Accordingly, they were astonished when confronted with such a significant change in the man’s life. They looked for a way to explain the change away, or at least to minimalize it.

Every time I read this story I hear the Holy Spirit whisper in my ear, “So Alex, what are you expecting God to do in your life; what do you expect to happen at Sunday Worship this week?”

God forgive me, but too many times I am stuck for an answer.

Sē’lah

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What word or phrase in today’s reading attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

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The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Monday, January 14, 2013                   I Am the Good Shepherd

Page 163-164         John 10:1-21