John 9

Just read John 9 this morning. It's a great story illustrating how God follows through on His promises and His plans. It reminds me of Phillipians 1:6, which states that God is going to complete the good work He began in you.

In summary, a man was born blind. The disciples ask Jesus who screwed up and sinned to cause him to be blind. Jesus tells them nobody sinned, that He was born blind so that God's power and glory could be revealed in him. Jesus heals the man by putting mud in his eyes and asking him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man does so, and can see for the first time.

This occurred on a Sabbath, so the religious leaders wanted to know who healed the man; whoever healed him clearly worked on the Sabbath and should be punished. They questioned the man repeatedly about who healed him, even asking his parents if he really was blind. Ultimately, the man started preaching TO the religious leaders, even before he fully understands who Jesus is. This excites me because this man, who was a nobody, a blind beggar, a member of society that nobody really wanted to deal with, stood before the leaders and proclaimed Jesus to them. From zero to hero, in a sense.

The religious leaders kick him out, Jesus finds the man and tells the man who He is, and the man worships Jesus.

This whole story began with Jesus telling His disciples that the man was blind so that He could be glorified. Look what happened. Jesus began a good work in this man when he was born blind, and was indeed faithful to complete that good work. It's pretty awesome.

The other thing I noted was the man's parents' reaction to the religuous leaders. Verse 22 says "His parents...were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue."

This still happens today. If someone decides they are going to follow the call of God on their life rather than please the religious establishment (pleasing people), that person sometimes faces severe ostracism from those in the establishment. It has happened to myself and my whole family at various times. Sometimes we have to be bold to follow Christ, even within the church. We have to put His word and His calling on our life first, before anything else. In that way He will complete that good work within you.