John 9:1-12

 John 9:1-12

The entire of chapter 9 is about Jesus healing the man born blind and its aftermath. Verses 1-12 tell us about this healing. Verses 2 and 3 show us a powerful lesson and contrast the two ways of looking at difficulty. It begins with the disciples asking who is to blame. Despite the lessons of the book of Job and other passages there was the prevailing attitude that there was/is a direct relationship between sin and suffering. Childhood maladies were problematic and so a misapplication of Exodus 20:5 taught that children with birth defects were punished for their parents’ sin. However, one rabbinic school taught that children could sin in their mother's womb. Hence the question from the disciples. “Who sinned this man or his parents?” 

There's something about human nature that wants to find someone or something to blame.  Maybe it goes back to our first parents in the Garden of Eden and their accusations there. We want to name the cause and fix the blame for every hardship, suffering or pain. 

 Jesus however did not enter into the discussion of causes. Jesus focused on purpose. The ‘why’ questions are all but impossible to answer. Behind each ‘why’ question there is another ‘why’ question that is frequently more difficult. Jesus does not argue about metaphysics of cosmic justice. He points to the purpose of glorifying God. Jesus could, of course, explain the ‘why’ of every suffering but we most likely would not understand. So the more important issue of God's glory is where Jesus directs His and our attentions. And that is something that we can understand 

Lord, today help me see how the circumstances of Life can result in Your  glory. AMEN”