Conversations – Jesus and the man born blind
Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power and might. Our God is an awesome God.
These are the words of a song I have sung many times recognising the majesty of God and his amazing power. He is the one who created the world and you and me. Long before we were born, he already knew about us – our strengths, our weaknesses, our successes, and our failures. To believe this is to live by faith. He knew all about us and chose to make us the way we are, because he loves us.
We read in John 9:1,2 how one day while Jesus was walking with his disciples, he saw a man who was born blind. A man whom God created – blind from birth. Why did God create this man blind? In verse 3 we are told why: So that the works of God might be manifest in him. How many times do we ask why bad things happen? Do we accept what we are told in John 9:3 or do we continue to question God?
So, what did Jesus do? Did he pass the man by? No. He stopped, spat on the ground, made mud, and put it on the man’s eyes. This seemed like an odd thing to do. Next, he told him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash it off. The blind man went, and he came back to Jesus seeing. By obeying Jesus, he was able to see for the first time. When we obey Jesus’ Word, our eyes can be opened too so that we see or are aware of things we have not seen before.
There were lots of conversations between the neighbours, Pharisees, and parents, and all had differing opinions. The Jews questioned the man, who was adamant that Jesus had healed him. The man was then cast out of the synagogue because he said Jesus must be from God.
In John 9:35–39 we read how Jesus went looking for the man and when he found him, he had quite a long chat with him about who he was. The healed man had no hesitation in saying “Lord I believe”. Have you ever thought that Jesus comes looking for you as well?
We don’t need to know all the answers in order to share Christ with others. We just need to have conversations and tell others how he has changed our lives and then trust that God will use our conversations to help others believe in him too.
Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, you are an awesome God. Open our eyes so that we really see you working in our lives. Help us, Holy Spirit, to keep our eyes open so that we will be always ready to chat to those around us about Jesus’ love and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
About the Author
