So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. John 9:24-34
One thing about following Jesus, He will open your eyes to things you would rather not see. The world tries to convince us that we are all basically good people. It tells us not to get hung up on morality, that kind of thinking is old fashion and intolerant. Do what makes you feel good and as long as no one is hurt, everything is permissible, no harm, no foul. Then God comes along and opens our eyes to what our actions really do.
God lets us know the harm our sinful ways really do. We see how our actions hurt those around us. Our eyes become open to the sin in our lives and as we become convicted of the sin we see how the Holy Spirit is working in our lives to change us. The person who sees nothing wrong with how they live has no reason to change. So, instead of changing they rationalize how others are affected by their actions as the others fault not their own.
Jesus literally opened the blind man’s eyes and he became a follower of Jesus. Today we see the blinders lifted from our own eyes and we too follow Jesus. And like the blind man who received his sight, followed Jesus and was cast out by the authorities we too will be cast out. The world has no place for us. They do not want to hear what we say or see how we live. They find God’s word too restricting. Not realizing that far from being restricted, followers of God are free.
Have a blessed day,
David