‘“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life’”.
~ John 9:3
Hi James and Ellen,
Why do you have eyes? Eyes allow you to see what is around you. There are some guys, gals and kids though who have eyes but who cannot see anything. These guys, gals and kids are blind. Some guys, gals and kids are born blind. Some guys, gals and kids may have had an illness which caused them to go blind. Some guys, gals and kids may have been in some sort of an accident which caused them to become blind. Can a blind guy or gal or kid see? Your grandmaa and grandpaa once stayed with a blind guy for five weeks. Your grandmaa and grandpaa were in Colorado Springs for special meetings. Your grandpaa enjoyed spending time with this blind guy. Darrell had been a soldier. Darrell fought in the Korean War. While Darrell was fighting in the Korean War, something exploded near Darrell causing him to become blind. Darrell would tell your grandpaa that your grandpaa was more handicapped than he was. Your grandpaa needed to have the lights on so that he could fix himself a cup of coffee. Darrell did not need light to see where he was going. Darrell would wash the dishes, fix things, clean the house and do a whole lot of other things – even though he could not see. Your grandpaa is sure that if Darrell had the opportunity to see light again that he would be very happy to be able to see again. Darrell was married. He had children and grandchildren. Can you be blind even though you can see? You probably are thinking that your grandpaa is asking silly questions again. Do you know what a blind spot is? There are two different kinds of blind spots. When you learn to drive a car, you will find that you will not be able to see all areas through your rearview and side view mirrors. You have to be extra careful when you change from one lane to another as there just might be another car in an area where you cannot see. Everyone has blind spots in their lives. A blind spot in your life can be compared to an area where your dad cannot see while he is driving a car. The car in your dad’s blind spot can see him. Other guys, gals and kids can see the blind spots that are in your lives. They may even try to help you see your blind spots. Your grandmaa has helped your grandpaa see blind spots in his life. Ask your ma and/or dad now to tell you about a blind spot in your life. Listen to your ma and/or dad very carefully. If you do not listen to the guys, gals and kids who you trust – who can help you with the things that you cannot see, you will end up in conflicts. A conflict is like being in an accident. You may cause other people to get hurt, you will have your feelings dented and you will end up being all banged up.
A young gal was kidnapped yesterday. The gal’s name is Amy. Amy goes to a school where missionary kids attend. Amy is a missionary kid – just like your dad and Aunt Lynn. Amy’s dad was taking Amy and her two older sisters to school. Some bad guys by stopping their car in the middle of the road – blocking the road, stopped the car that Amy’s dad was driving. The guys had guns. The guys picked out Amy to go with them. Amy’s ma and dad have money. The bad guys probably knew that Amy’s ma and dad have money. The guys kidnapped Amy thinking that Amy’s ma and dad would probably pay a ransom to have Amy released safely. Not long after Amy was kidnapped, the cops here in Guatemala found the kidnappers and rescued Amy. Your grandmaa and grandpaa got news of the kidnapping shortly after Amy was kidnapped. The wife of a field team missionary when she heard the news went to the school where Amy is a student. This ma has three daughters. The three gals are all students at the missionary kid’s school. This ma went to her oldest daughter’s classroom. The ma told the teacher in front of the fifth graders that something awful had just happened and that she needed to talk to the teacher outside the room. What do you think the fifth grade kids were thinking right then? They were really scared for themselves and for Amy when they heard the news. Should the ma have gone to the classroom to tell the teacher about Amy or should this ma have let the administrator or the principal of the school tell the teacher and the kids in the fifth grade? The ma really did not think that she was doing anything wrong by not letting those responsible at the school pass on the information about Amy to the teacher and to the fifth graders. This ma has a blind spot about the right way to pass on information.
John 9 is the story of a blind man who got his sight back. This guy was born blind. It was God’s will that this guy was born blind. The guys and gals who knew this blind guy thought that the guy was born blind because his ma and dad had sinned. Sin does invariably lead to awful things happening but . . . what you sometimes may think as being awful is not the result of sin. It is sometimes easy to forget that God has a perfect plan that He designed before He created planet Earth that He is unfolding moment by moment. God tells the John Book readers in verse 3 what His plan was for the guy who had been born blind. This verse says ‘“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life’”. God used this blind guy to show how blind everyone else is. Jesus made some mud which he rubbed on the eyes of the blind guy. Jesus then told this blind guy where he was to go to wash the mud out of his eyes. When the blind guy did exactly what Jesus told him to do, the blind guy discovered that he could see for the first time in his life. Were the guys and gals who knew the blind guy happy that the blind guy was able to see? Would you be happy if someone who you knew who had been blind could suddenly see? The guys and the gals in this story were not happy. The guys and gals were afraid. The guys and gals were blind to the truth which Jesus was teaching them and showing them through miracles. There is no excuse to be blind to the truth which leads to Jesus. Knowing Jesus will open your eyes to God’s love for you.
John 9 (27)