I'm Blind

Scripture

John 9:1-7; 20-21; 25
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

20"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself."

25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

Observation
Imagine this: A blind man from birth( he has never seen light/stars/people/geography) sitting beside the road, and some people walk past you and start talking about you. The next thing you experience is hearing a man beside spit...on the ground. You have probably been humiliated most of your life, so you probably think the spit will land on you; if this man is like the others. You hear the man bend down in front of you, you hear something on the ground, and the next thing you know this person is smearing mud on your blind eyes. What is going on? If this were today, there would be 3 attorneys trying to sue Jesus for touching the man without his permission! So Jesus tells him to "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam." How did this blind man know where to go? How ridiculous did a blind man look with mud covering his eyes and running down his face? Did he run down, did he wander like I would very cautiously fearing that I may run into someone or something? But the man went, and went home seeing. He did not return to Jesus, but he went home. What was happening down at the Pool as he washed his face? Imagine cautiously opening up your eyes, when you feel all the mud washed off, and SEEING. What did he see first, what was his heart rate beating at as he opened his eyes?
So people kept questioning him, how did this happen, who healed you? His parents reply in verse 21, "we don't know how this happened", and then in verse 25 the former blind man tells the crowd, "I don't know, but the one thing I do know is that I was blind but now I can see."

Application
I was born blind too. I did not know God when I was born, in fact my natural man wars against the things of God. Jesus being the light of the world opened my eyes so I could receive him. But am I still blind today? Would I "Go"? Jesus create the mud, applied/pressed it onto/into his eyes and told him to Go. What type of faith did it take him to believe everything that was happening around him? Would I have that type of faith or have I become calloused and cold, questioning the things I can not see, and how I feel? When was the last time Jesus knelt down in front of me, touched me, applied what he had made onto me, and told me to Go, and I replied with, "I'm busy right now, can I do it later?", "You want me to go where, when, looking like this?", "Am I being punked?" Doubt, and disobedience dominate my thought. What I see in this scripture is God wanting to me to believe and have the faith to follow and do exactly as He directs. Did Jesus have to put mud on the guys so he couldn't open his eyes and "peek?" The guy was blind, Jesus could have just told him to go to the pool and wash. But the man stayed in an uncomfortable situation, a stranger applying mud to your eyes, and running down your face. This speaks to me that I need to stay and obey God when I feel uncomfortable. I need to wait for God to instruct me and then do it exactly as he says. And then I need to be like the blind/seeing man......."I don't know what happened, but I waited for Jesus to finish next to the road, then I did what he told me to do- I somehow found the river, threw myself in and washed my eyes and face clean and I can see." Obedient. Am I as obedient as he was?

Prayer
Father, You plan is always better than my plan. You have shown me through Jesus how I am to be obedient, and from obedience comes blessings. I pray that you would show me areas in my life that I am not obedient to you in, and you would continue to mold my heart into one of obedience. Amen