Essential 100

This week’s E100 scripture readings focus on the miracles of the Lord Jesus. I was struck by the response of Jesus to iHis disciple’s question concerning the reason the man’s blindness in John 9:3. Jesus replied that the blindness was not caused by sin on the part of the blind man nor his parents but that it: “happened so that that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Now my first take on this is to ask the age old question; “Did God cause this man to be born blind so that He could show how great He was by healing him?” Such a question misses the mark because it questions the very nature of God who is Love. Our God is not cupreous. He is not playing a game with us, nor does God need to use the suffering of a mere mortal to prove how powerful He is. To think that the blind man is a mere pawn in a game God is playing is also denying the spiritual nature and worth of the man born blind. So what does Jesus mean by this statement?

To answer this question, I must think like an artist. An artist is a maker. He or she takes what God the Creator has created and makes something new out of it. As an artist, I am very familiar with taking paint and canvas and through the creative process making something new that is created to reflect who I am. Also as an artist it is important for my work to be displayed. Having other people see my work and be moved by it is a wonderful thing. There is a sense of validation and a feeling of being known, understood, and appreciated when others see your work and are drawn to you as the artist.

So in this case, I believe that God, the Divine Artist, was taking the material, the blind man, and creating something new in his life, a seeing man, through the power of his Son the Miracle Worker. The result of the new making is then offered to the world as a display of God’s work which then enables the man and other people to know, understand, and appreciate the Divine Artist. This way of thinking also addresses the spiritual nature of man because we find that Jesus seeks him out later in the story and leads the seeing man into a spiritual relationship with Himself. This miracle also then is used as a witness that brings others to Jesus.

I really can appreciate this story because although I am not blind, I am confronting a life threatening disease. To think that my disease was given to me by God flies in the face of all I believe about the love of God. Or to think that God gave this disease to me so that He could get glory in the healing of my cancer is totally misunderstanding what Jesus is saying to His disciples. What I understand is that God is at work in me as the Creator who desires to make me new by perhaps a physical healing and, or for sure, a spiritual healing. Then the purpose of my healing, the work of God on display, would be to bring me and others into an ever closer relationship in knowing, understanding, and appreciating His love.