Jump Start # 797

John 9:1-2 “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”

I spent much of last night in the emergency waiting room of a local hospital. A friend was having problems and I went. I sat alone for a while. I saw families with little kids. I saw older people. I saw some like myself, who were there for someone else. I have been to emergency waiting rooms on many occasions, some of the times it was for my own kids. Emergency room situations generate three common thoughts: first, can the person get better; second, why did this happen; and, third, how am I going to pay for this. Emergency rooms are great places to pray. I did a lot of that last night for my friend.

Our passage today is not taken from the emergency. A blind man is the center of attention. He is not in an life or death situation. He is blind. He has been blind for a long time. He has only known blindness. Most blind people in Jesus’ day, were placed by family members near the temple or other places of gathering so they could beg. Begging was their life. It was sad and pitiful. There was no hope for a blind person in those days. Seeing eye dogs, Braille language, handicap access was light years away from that world.

Jesus passed by this man. The disciples asked a question. Their question dealt with the cause. What caused his blindness. They didn’t ask Jesus if He had time to heal this man. They didn’t ask the Lord to pray for this man. They were curious about the “how come’s”. Many are like that. Not interested in getting involved. Not interested in making a difference. Just curious. Just nosey.

In their way of thinking, this man’s blindness was punishment from God. Their thinking, much like the thinking of Job’s friends, was that all suffering is directly connected to sin. Someone sinned, that is why this man is blind. They wanted to know who. Was it the parents? Was it his dad? Was it his mom? Was it this man? We wonder if the next question in this line of thinking was to ask for specifics. What was the sin? What sin leads to punishment of blindness? It seems that the disciples know this man. They knew he was blind from birth. It wasn’t an injury from work or a childhood disease, this man has always been blind. He has never seen red. He doesn’t know what a flower looks like. He couldn’t recognize Jesus. He couldn’t see. There doesn’t seem to be much compassion from the disciples, just curiosity as to why.

It is amazing that they wonder if this man had sinned. They asked, who sinned, this man or his parents? Odd question. If they really think he is being punished and he has been blind since birth, when did this man have the opportunity to sin? Where did he sin? In the womb? Did they believe he was born with sin? They didn’t do much thinking before they spoke. We wonder if it was Peter who spoke those words. He historically said things without thinking them out.

Jesus wouldn’t accept either theory. His parents are not to blame. He is not to blame. Sin is not the cause of this man’s blindness. Not all suffering is connected to sin. Some is, but not all. Some suffering comes from lifestyle choices. Abusing the body with drugs or alcohol will cause suffering. Some suffering is connected to other people. Accidents happen. People suffer. Some suffering is not connected to anything. It just happens. Meteors fall from the sky. Tornados roar through the Midwest. Hurricanes crash into the shoreline. People get hurt. Some die. Who is to blame? Why did it happen?

We seem to be so fixated upon the “why” of suffering instead of what are we to do when we suffer. Knowing the why doesn’t change things. Knowing the why would not make the blind man able to see. Why only matters if there is something that can be learned, fixed or changed in the future. Most times, the why leads to blame and then to bitterness and anger. We spend too much time chasing the “why” of suffering.

The blind man in John 9 was healed by Jesus. This caused a big stink among the Jewish leadership. They questioned the man’s parents. They questioned the man twice. They couldn’t accept that Jesus had healed him. The healing of the blind man revealed the blindness of others. And that’s exactly what suffering does. It tends to bring the best or the worst out of people. Compassion, prayers and love will flow from some when there is suffering. For others, it’s blame, pointing fingers, anger, and ignorance. God uses suffering to teach us. Trials in life can lead us to stronger faith. Trials can forge character and godliness. Some of God’s greatest lessons come from days of trials.

The crisis that took my friend to the hospital has eased. Hands were held and prayers were offered to God last night. Suffering has a way of bringing people together. It has a way of making us look beyond ourselves. Suffering brings prayers for those who have such a heart and faith. The cause of suffering is hard for people to understand. Seeing children suffering is enough for some to deny God. In their thinking, a good God would not allow children to suffer.  Because children do suffer, either God is not good or He does not exist. Again, we are fixed upon the why’s of suffering. Often we do not know. The world we live in is broken and rapidly moving away from sense and God. Since Adam, suffering is a part of this world. Pharaoh ordered the death of Hebrew babies. Herod ordered the death of baby boys. People have abused and slaughtered children. Does this mean there is no God?  The choices of some have led to this. Others died by diseases. Our world is a suffering world. We desperately try to eliminate all suffering. Remove the guns is a current solution that some think will end suffering. Stop this. Change that. A new shot. A new pill. A new law. A new method. A new way. This won’t stop suffering. There will always be suffering as long as there is planet earth. Heaven is the world in which there is no pain, crying, mourning, or death. Suffering ends with this life. Problems end with this life. Pain ends with this life. That is, for the righteous. Heaven is all the world to me!

I’m thankful for a God that hears and answers prayers. He is amazing!

Roger