Today's Readings - 2 Kings 9-10, John 9:19–41, Psalm 69:14–20, Proverbs 14:15-16
Devotional
So, who was really blind in John 9?
In the story, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind, and just to annoy the Pharisees and their ilk, he did it on the Sabbath day. Jesus loved the Father and would never think of doing a thing that would violate any of the Father's laws, but he took special glee in poking holes in the system of self-righteousness created by the Temple leaders. Most of the great miracles he did recorded in the New Testament were performed on the Sabbath for good measure.
It's an amusing story. In their fury at Jesus' work in healing the man, they harassed the man's parents, who passed the buck to the man himself. They bullied the man who had been healed, calling him names and insulting him. The man had been healed and all they could do was try to tear him down! But there was nothing funny about their sinful, selfish, evil hearts.
The Pharisees revealed their true blindness in response to this miracle. They did not rejoice that a man was healed. They were angered that their control was threatened, that their petty rules were broken. They were not concerned with the glory of God or the good of the people of God, but with their own control over those people and their status and standing in the nation.
That is true blindness. It is blindness to think that life is about me, about my standing in the world. When God opens our eyes we see that it is about him, about his work in this world and about the wonderful things that he is doing in us and through us. We are here to serve him. God does not serve our agendas, we are here to advance his kingdom.
There is no greater blindness than self-glory and self-centeredness. I am not the creator of the world. I do not rule the world. I cannot govern the world or bring justice to it. I am not capable of consummating the world's history in glory. Only God can do that. For me to forget that, to put myself in the place of God, to take the focus off of God's work and put it on me - that is real blindness.
In the story, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind, and just to annoy the Pharisees and their ilk, he did it on the Sabbath day. Jesus loved the Father and would never think of doing a thing that would violate any of the Father's laws, but he took special glee in poking holes in the system of self-righteousness created by the Temple leaders. Most of the great miracles he did recorded in the New Testament were performed on the Sabbath for good measure.
It's an amusing story. In their fury at Jesus' work in healing the man, they harassed the man's parents, who passed the buck to the man himself. They bullied the man who had been healed, calling him names and insulting him. The man had been healed and all they could do was try to tear him down! But there was nothing funny about their sinful, selfish, evil hearts.
The Pharisees revealed their true blindness in response to this miracle. They did not rejoice that a man was healed. They were angered that their control was threatened, that their petty rules were broken. They were not concerned with the glory of God or the good of the people of God, but with their own control over those people and their status and standing in the nation.
That is true blindness. It is blindness to think that life is about me, about my standing in the world. When God opens our eyes we see that it is about him, about his work in this world and about the wonderful things that he is doing in us and through us. We are here to serve him. God does not serve our agendas, we are here to advance his kingdom.
There is no greater blindness than self-glory and self-centeredness. I am not the creator of the world. I do not rule the world. I cannot govern the world or bring justice to it. I am not capable of consummating the world's history in glory. Only God can do that. For me to forget that, to put myself in the place of God, to take the focus off of God's work and put it on me - that is real blindness.
Father, open my eyes to your greatness, your sovereign glory, and to the work that you are doing. May I never be blinded by self-centeredness and the desire for control and power.
Think and Pray
In our faith, in our church, in our "religion," what matters more, maintaining control and keeping everyone in line or seeing the power of God?
Think about the difference between true faith and abusive, over-authoritarian religion. What are the differences?
Is true joy in Jesus a marker of your daily walk?
Think about the difference between true faith and abusive, over-authoritarian religion. What are the differences?
Is true joy in Jesus a marker of your daily walk?
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