The Light of the World

Reading Time: 6 Minutes

Jesus pays attention to suffering people.

John 9.1-5 – As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.

2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

There is no doubt that God loves every person in the world (John 3.16). However, as you read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), you will notice that Jesus pays particular attention to hurting people, the suffering, the vulnerable, and the outcasts. He knows our needs, our hopes, our dreams, and our pain.

It is our nature to seek an answer for childhood illness. To me there is nothing more difficult than seeing a child suffering and to not be able to help. Jesus’ disciples wondered about the issue and gave traditional answers.

Jesus in his humanity asked the “why” question like many of us do. Matthew records Jesus’ cry from the cross: “And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” (Matthew 27.46).

If Jesus can ask “why,” so can we.

Even though God may seem silent to us in our pain, the suffering of this world does not go unnoticed by him. The paralyzed man by the pool (John 5), the outcast woman at the well (John 4), the woman caught in adultery (John 8), and this blind man are some of the many examples in the Gospels that let us know we are not overlooked by God.

Notice verse 4, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day . . .” As you read the rest of chapter 9, look for how the blind man joined Jesus in his ministry. People who enter into a transforming friendship with Jesus are the very ones who join Jesus in bringing light to the world.

Have your eyes been touched?

John 9.6-9 – 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, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent).

Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

8 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?” 9 Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.”

He kept saying, “I am the man.”

If you have never watched the videos on the “I am Second” website, I’d like to encourage you to view my two favorites. See https://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/whispering-danny/ for the story of Whispering Danny and https://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/shane-kampe/ for Shane Kampe. While you are staying at home being safe from the corona virus, take 15 minutes to be inspired by God’s great love for these two men.

If you watched the video, you know the story and how the healing of Shane Kampe from a traumatic brain injury was used to bring Danny into a friendship relationship with Jesus. At the end of the story, Shane appears and says, “I am the guy.”

Shane’s “I am the guy,” is the best commentary I know on this John 9 passage. Just like Shane, the man said, “I am the man.” God’s mighty power revealed his nature of love and his mission to bring life to both this man and our friends, Shane and Danny.

Like the man in John 9, Shane and Danny have worked with Jesus to bring his light to the world since 2001.

I went, I washed, I saw!

John 9.10-12 – But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

11 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.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

If you have watched Danny’s and Shane’s “I am Second” videos, you will see statements from them that resemble this man’s story. Their story is simple and compelling. They both met Jesus and received the abundant life that Jesus came to earth to give people. They are “satisfied customers” of God’s profound love and grace.

Your Turn

What is the story of your life with Jesus? Would you take a minute today to briefly tell your story of how Jesus became real to you in the comments section below? I think it would encourage the readers of real-voices.com. Thanks for giving us the gift of your story.

Today’s Prayer

We praise you God for your love that reaches people like us. We praise you that you offer to us a friendship that will make us more and more like you. We open ourselves to your activity and love today.