Wednesday Night Recap - Accepting God's Love

This week, we continued our study through the book of John by examining the story of the healing of the blind man in John 9:1-41. The main emphasis of our study is to show that every one of us begins spiritually blind, even though we think we are sufficient to handle life on our own. It is only when our eyes are opened by Jesus that we see how meaningless our previous existence was. This story provides us with a glimpse into different attitudes about Jesus. The attitude of the (former) blind man's parents revealed someone who wants to fit in with the crowd. They would not answer the Pharisees because they were afraid of retribution and being outcasts. They were willing to compromise what they knew to be true in order to fit in. They were not willing to sacrifice their crowd for Christ. The Pharisees had an attitude of superiority. They believed their position and accomplishments made them important. However it was just such an attitude that, even though they thought they could see, showed them to be truly blind. They valued accomplishments and position more than the opportunity to follow the Messiah. The blind man shows us someone who was disadvantaged his entire life. He had no hope. After all, no one who had been born blind had ever been able to see before. (vs 32) When the man was healed, he immediately began speaking the truth. His boldness to proclaim what happened, regardless of the consequences, even got him thrown out of the synagogue! Ultimately the healing of this man's physical blindness brings about his spiritual awakening. Even after Jesus healed him, he didn't understand completely who Jesus was. But when revealed, the man believed Jesus was who he claimed to be. Many times in our own lives we feel inadequate. We feel blind and hopeless. We search for answers in many places. And sometimes those places bring about temporary satisfaction or relief. But only by believing in Jesus can we truly see. ***My apologies for my recent silence. I will strive to do better in the future!