Guided
Imagine asking a blind man for directions.
As he walked 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 answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We* must work the works of him who sent me* while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’ - John 9:1-12
The way John tells this story, we get the impression that the blind man is not in the presence of Jesus when he gains his sight. So, he never sees Jesus.
Jesus may be right there and he wouldn't know it. When asked where this man is who cured him, how could he know?
When good things come our way, how do we know that God's hand is not in it?
I believe the Holy Spirit sends people into our lives to help us and it is our prayers and the prayers of others who care about us that summons the Spirit to come.
John shows us God's compassion through Jesus, and Jesus is the example each of us should try to follow.
We may not be able to literally cure blindness, but we can help people see the truth about God's love.
And if we trust in God, the Holy Spirit will show us what we need to do.
More to come...