February 16
JOHN 9
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
– John 9:8-12
JOHN 9 FAITH VERSUS UNBELIEF
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you have faith like a mustard seed the impossible can happen
Because of his faith, the blind man was given sight for the first time
There were those who saw him who couldn’t believe he was the same man
Their unbelief led them to many questions and inability to receive the sign.
It is interesting how the neighbors of the blind beggar couldn’t recognize the man who is now able to see. They were so used to seeing him without sight. Because of this mindset, they were also unable to believe that the Son of God can do the impossible. It is sad how unbelief can make us ask many questions because our minds are so limited. They had to interrogate the man and ask how Jesus gave him his sight. They had to process in their minds through reasoning how the impossible happened. They cannot just receive it because that would mean that their thinking process is wrong which is illogical. Many of us get stuck in our mindsets that we cannot see the new life that Jesus has given us. We get so used to the old sinful ways that it becomes hard to give up the habit of sin.
This man had faith which was manifested when he obeyed Jesus to go to the pool of Siloam to wash the mud that he placed on his eyes. David Guzik comments “Still as a blind man he had to find his way down to the pool of Siloam and down its steps to the pool itself. He likely could think of a dozen reasons why this was a fool’s errand, but he went and washed in faith and obedience, because Jesus told him to (and because there was mud in his eyes.”
REFLECTION
• How have you grown your faith since you became a servant of the Lord Jesus?
