Ever seen a blind man begging in the streets? Or a blind man singing by the corner with his guitar and put-up microphone? I wonder if they were born blind… Chances are, they were. It happens right? What if God created you blind? Do you think He’d say Oops?
This entry was inspired by Cat & Dog Theology by Bob Sjorgren & Gerald Robison
A man born blind
There’s a passage in the Bible that shows how Jesus looked at people born with ailments such as being blind. The disciples thought that people born with ailments had sinful parents or ancestors – thus the punishment or judgment or consequence brought about by God.
The passage is found in John 9: 1-2 which says:
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus did not focus on sin
The answer Jesus gave definitely changed the way I look at the judgment, grace and nature of God. He related the blind man’s ailment to the glory of God and not to sin. We usually think that God is a punisher – and it’s true, He is the judge. But He looks at things in a different light and perspective. We have to know that He does not enjoy punishing people but He has to because He is just. In light of this happening with Jesus and His disciples, we realize that God is focused on His glory and not on sin and punishing it.
Here’s what Jesus answered them in the next verse John 9:3:
“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 definitely did not say ‘Oops’
Let’s look at the passage Psalms 139:13-16 shall we?
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
We were created and planned out carefully before being born. God made us and He formed us intricately for His own purposes and glory. A man born blind is meant to give God glory through his ailment. God can use disabilities in spite of – because His power is made perfect in weakness.
Don’t ever focus on the sins in a person’s life. A man born blind is created for the glory of God and not because of sin.