Life Spark: Eye-openers change lives. (John 9:6-15)
My mom was almost blind when she passed away. An eye doctor diagnosed early glaucoma and macular degeneration in my eyes ten years ago. The doctor’s good care has helped me hold steady visually since diagnosis. Eyesight is precious.
“Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.” (John 9:6, NIV) Having said this (that He was the light of the world), He prepares to act in line with His claim and give the blind man new, exciting exposure to light.
”’Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” (John 9:7, NIV) Jesus pointed the man toward a richer, fuller, brighter life. Why didn’t Jesus just say “See”? Was it the blind man, and us, that humility usually precedes healing?
“His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’” (John 9:8, NIV) He confirms that he ‘used to be’ blind, but was no longer. When Jesus is making you more alive, you walk away from so many ‘used to be’s’. You’re more than a human being; you’re a human being becoming a new kind of human. Jesus helps people see what they didn’t use to see and be who they didn’t used to be.
“’How then were your eyes opened?’” they demanded. 11 He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus …’” (John 9:10-11a, NIV)
Going to college was an eye-opener for me. Traveling to Uganda was an eye-opener for me. Encountering Jesus my senior year in high school was an eye-opener for me. Can you think of something that was an eye-opener for you? Are you praying for a friend or family member that needs an eye-opener?
”Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. (2 Cor. 4:4a, NLT) A blind mind is even more life-depleting than dysfunctional eyes.
Life-question: Can you think of one negative characteristic of your life that ‘used to be’ but is no longer, since you saw who Jesus is?