My little addition to Our Daily Bread (7/22/11):
So again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight.
"He put mud on my eyes," he told them. "I washed and I can see." …
Again they asked the blind man, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?"
"He's a prophet," he said. …
So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner!"
He answered, "Whether or not He's a sinner, I don't know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!"
(John 9:15, 17, 24-25 HCSB)
Solomon was right that there is “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10). Randy Kilgore wrote in today’s ODB about an experience of another man’s reaction to matters of faith. Ben Stein’s movie “Expelled” showed the extent to which “scientific” academia slams the door for those bold enough to leave room for God in their thinking about our origins. This passage in John shows how the religious/community leaders had become so closed-minded and placed themselves in God’s place (having deemed Jesus a sinner). For millennia, people in authority have been baffled by this man Jesus and how to respond. When He doesn’t fit the mold, we don’t want to admit that our mold is wrong, so time after time we will try to press and squeeze to make Him fit. And if that won’t work, cut Him out entirely.
Regardless of the agenda, response, or openness of those questioning and challenging our faith, the observable change in a person’s life is irrefutable evidence. I know who I was without Him and I know who I am because of Him, so I will stand with the once-blind man: You can call Him whatever you choose, but He was, is and will forever be my Savior.
But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be disturbed, but set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. (1 Peter 3:14-15 HCSB)
Andy Jentes
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