Life Spark: Until I see Jesus for who He is, every day on my calendar is a blind date. (John 9:24-34)
“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind.” (John 9:24a, NIV) The once-blind man has a court date, but, thank God, it wasn’t a blind date. They made him swear on the Old Testament to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but what they wanted him to say. They had made up their minds. A closed mind is a blind mind. “’Give glory to God,’” they said. ‘We know this man is a sinner.’” (John 9:24b, NIV) He did give glory to God because being fully alive is what glorifies God.
“He replied, ‘Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!’” (John 9:24-25, NIV) I love his answer. “I can see. I know my AD is better than my BC. Can’t you see that? Are you blind?” I don’t know where he got his backbone, but it wasn’t from his parents. The leaders tried to pull his religious puppet strings like they did with his parents, only to find Jesus has cut the strings and set him free.
These religious social referees threw yellow penalty flags on both Jesus and the man with fresh eyesite. Sabbath healing – 10 yards. Sleazy witness – 5 yards. Unknown origin – 15 yards. Slight of hand – ejection. Flag down. Gavel down.
”’You illegitimate bastard, you!’ they shouted. ‘Are you trying to teach us?’”’ And they threw him out.” (John 9:34, TLB) The once-blind man, largely untaught, was teachable. The religionists, highly taught, were pretty much unteachable. One huge key to coming to be more alive is being teachable life-long learner. Too often, I’m not as teachable as I should be, but I don’t see it until I look back. My hindsight is better than my insight.
How teachable are you today?
Life-challenge: Rank your current teachable level between 0 (unteachable) and 10 (totally teachable). Add two to your score and use that for your goal today.