As he moved forward, 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 said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be made manifest in him.”
John 9:1-3
the way god works
One of the greatest difficulties we have in understanding our Creator God is that we assume He works the same way we do. We are tempted to judge him and his actions based on our own flawed standards of right and wrong, good and bad. When we do this, He appears weak, and His ways remain mysterious.
But God explains repeatedly in the Bible that He works on an entirely different level. Their visionary plans and goals naturally do not match our sinful human logic, which is tied to time and immediate self-gratification. He says through His prophet Isaiah, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). No wonder His ways are mysterious to us! But he is not guilty; we are. were broken; He is not!
We are not alone in struggling with this intellectual and spiritual obstacle. Jesus’ chosen disciples also fumbled around, trying to understand why God did what he did and getting it wrong. For example, they assumed that the man they encountered in today’s Bible lesson was born blind because either he or his parents had committed some terrible sin. But they were absolutely wrong. Jesus explained, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be made visible in him.”
get that! God allows—even sends—painful suffering in our lives, and why? Because he hates us? No, so He can show us and others how powerful He is to save now and forever.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help me to see how mercifully you work all things for my good. Amen.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used with permission from Zondervan. All rights reserved world wide.
