She counted ten fingers, ten toes, and declared her firstborn daughter “perfect.” But she couldn’t escape the feeling that something wasn’t right with her precious baby. Soon, doctors confirmed her suspicions: a rare form of blindness in one eye. Experts agreed nothing could be done; it was incurable.

That woman was my mother. I am the baby girl.

Cause and Effect

People in Jesus’ day understood what my mother quickly learned: Congenital blindness is untreatable (v.32). In the opening verses of John 9, the disciples don’t question if the man born blind can be healed by Jesus because they assume a congenital defect is beyond a miracle. Instead, they use the man’s predicament as an opportunity for Jesus to clarify a debated question. “Who sinned to cause this blindness,” they ask, “the man or his parents?”

We have an innate desire to connect cause with effect. But from Jesus’ reply we learn that causation is not as important as purpose. Jesus answers that neither the parents nor the man sinned—the blindness exists so that the wondrous signs of God can be displayed.

If I put aside the question, What or who is to blame for my blindness? it is much easier for me to ask, What purpose might God have for it? When we look carefully, we can find a purpose in every suffering: to display the glory of God (seen here in John 9), to test and deepen our faith (read Job), to convict us of sin (remember John 5:14-15), or as a result of testifying about God (like the Apostle Stephen in Acts 6-7). In a way, all suffering provides opportunities for God’s glory to be displayed through grace. If our suffering is the result of sin, God’s glory is displayed through the grace of reconciliation and forgiveness. If the cause of our suffering is unknown, we can trust that everything God allows in our life can be worked out for good (Romans 8:28). This frees us to die to ourselves and pick up our cross, denying comfort in a culture which often elevates it to idol status.

Like the blind man, I regularly field hurtful questions about my blindness. In this example, the Pharisees, the crowd, and even the disciples lack the compassionate response we witness in Jesus when He encountered suffering people (Matthew 20:29-34). He wept with those who wept (John 11:33-36) and carried His love for hurting mankind all the way to the cross (John 15:13).

The healed man does not know what caused his blindness or how the healing worked but he understands exactly Who has healed him. From the beginning of John 9 to the end, we watch the man’s progression of faith. At first, he calls his Healer simply, “Jesus” (v.11). By verse 38, he declares, “‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him.” Like the blind man, we are not born with spiritual sight. Yet Jesus came to give you and I sight—to remove the blinders caused by sin and to enlighten us to the truth of Who He is—the Light of the world (v.5). Jesus reveals to us our helpless situation and offers us Himself, the light that leads to freedom from sin. And as more light is revealed, more faith follows.

We are the Blind Man

For years, I read this story as though it were just another miracle, until I realised I was jealous of the blind man. Jesus not only gave him sight, He healed every secondary issue related to his blindness. No additional support was needed to learn to balance, understand what he was seeing, or how to move around in a 3-D world. His healing was complete—and immediate.

The miracle of sight in this passage is a much bigger miracle than it first seems. It led the blind man to faith in Jesus, making him completely whole spiritually and physically. We too, born spiritually blind, have been given the gift of complete healing from our sins. Jesus already compassionately provided the cure on the cross. Our part is to obediently accept His free gift of salvation. When we understand our deep need as blind people, gratitude compels us to worship Him and declare along with the blind man, “Lord, I believe.”

Where do you need to shift your focus from ‘why’ to ‘how can this bring God glory?’ Take a moment to surrender that area of your life to the Lord and invite Him to work through you so that others will also declare their belief in Jesus.

*This article was originally published by The Devoted Collective in their John study. Click here to get the John reading plan or to join the Devoted Collective.

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