Wednesday, November 18, 2015

In our last two visits I mentioned a little girl who asked Jesus to become her shepherd after I spoke at her grandfather’s funeral. I’d refer to that experience as what David Mains would call a “God Sighting.” For him, a God sighting was anytime he saw what he felt God was doing either in someone’s life or in circumstances. Many people would call this a mere coincidence. I prefer to say, God was working, but remaining anonymous. There’s a Biblical account of such an incident in the Gospel of John, chapter 9. Jesus and His disciples came across a man who was born blind, sitting on the side of the road begging. The disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” What Jesus said and did created a stir that exposed the hearts of the people involved in the account. Jesus saw this as an opportunity, answering His disciples, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” He then spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man’s eyes. He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam.” The man did this and returned home seeing. An obvious miracle! Immediately he was asked by his neighbors and others who had seen him begging for years, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some said it was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” Hearing the conversation and questions, the man who had been blind since birth interrupted the conversation around him and declared, “I am the man.” The rest of the chapter is a snapshot of what happens when God does something, even in our day. Read John 9 and reflect on it in preparation for our next visit.