Week two and we find ourselves facing a difficult question, one that keeps circulating thousands of years after its debut. Who sinned? Or we could ask it another way: Why did this happen?
Ever been there?
In scripture, there was a common thought that went like this: bad things happen to people as a direct punishment from God because of a sin committed, for a wrong against God, due to breaking God’s commandments and law.
So, when Jesus showed up seeming to explain all the mysteries of scripture, this question was bound to arise.
One day the disciples were walking with Jesus and they saw a man who had been born blind. They naturally asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was man born blind?” (John 9)
It was believed that the human nature was so bent toward evil that a person could sin in the womb and/or that the punishment for the sins of parents/grandparents would be enacted upon a later generation. Isn’t that crazy?
And we, too, want to know WHY! We need a reason for the pain. We need the heartache explained. We feel that if we can discover WHY for the suffering then it will somehow make it worth it.
I hear this talk all the time. People frequently say, “There’s a reason for everything.” It’s like this excuse makes the trauma okay and it seems like it’s either letting God off the hook or blaming Him completely. Neither seem right, but what other options do we have?
Here’s my beef with that notion.
First, that thought completely dismisses our own involvement and removes free will from the equation. We must not forget that God gave each of us a mind and the freedom to choose. Sometimes, bad things happen because people make bad choices.
And secondly, I don’t think that God is causing all these tragedies, handing out abuse and dealing out loss for His pleasure or even a greater purpose. That’s not what I understand from scripture.
Back to our story; Jesus declares that this man’s situation of suffering reveals a much deeper work of Jesus and purpose in the world.
Hear me folks and understand the distinction.
Jesus says that this is simply an OPPORTUNITY for the POWER of God to be seen! He is NOT saying that the whole purpose of this man’s life in blindness is for one miracle of regaining sight.
It is not coincidence that this healing is with the eyes. In his famous sermon on the mount Jesus says that “the eyes are the lamp of the body and if the eye is WHOLE then the entire person will be full of light” (Matt 6:22-23).
So, I think Jesus was teaching his disciples and showing us that the power of God is to restore wholeness of life for each person IN THIS LIFE. ‘Night is coming’ means that death is certain for everyone but while we are alive (while it is day), we have the opportunity to see the power of God work in our lives, right in our current darkness/brokenness (the blind man’s metaphorical situation).
No matter the tragedy, despite the trial, and even though we all struggle, the power of God is at work through the life of Jesus in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Our life is to reveal the power of God and as we let light in, the world looks differently to us, and at the same time, the rest of the world gets brighter!
So, would you shift your focus from answering the inaccessible WHY this is happening, and allow the life and light of Jesus to restore wholeness of life right where you’re at!
Suffering sucks, but God is life! Pain hurts, but Jesus heals! Darkness is real, but the LIGHT has come!
0 Comments