We MUST

John 9, I believed, happened six days after John 8. Perhaps Jesus spent some time in Bethany with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus for a few days. He got out of Jerusalem to avoid being stoned. But, He came back because had to. It was a Sabbath. Jesus normally got in trouble on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath police were always watching to stop Him from some good work He was sent to do by the Lord of the Sabbath. The occasion this time was a blind man. He had been blind since birth, and old enough to speak for himself. So let's say he was at least 20. He had a pretty good head on his shoulders. He was pretty tough and did not back down from the Pharisees, and even was kicked out of the synagogue, i.e. excommunicated. The scene begins with Jesus' disciples asking Jesus who sinned to cause this man to be born blind. They saw two possibilities, either the man himself or his parents. The first was pretty ridiculous. The second was possible. Maybe mom was a heavy drinker and this man was born with the effects of alcohol fetal syndrome that produced blindness. I don't know if that happens, but I remember somewhere in my upbringing being warned about drinking moonshine because it would make you go blind. No doubt this was a much debated theological issue, much like the question the woman in John 4 asked about where folks should worship. Jesus rarely got pulled too deeply into these questions. And on our occasion He turned the conversation back to a more productive path. We can become so caught up in "cause" that we miss "purpose." If they had spent all day discussing the cause of this man's blindness, he would have still been blind at the end of the day. Jesus, in the words of the country song, wants a lot less talk and a lot more action.

So the purpose was, that whatever the cause of this man's blindness, there is an opportunity to display the work of God in his life. Jesus is about making a difference. Jesus set in motion a series of events that may have not stopped even to this day. Who knows if there may be some descendant of this man who still roams the earth today proclaiming the works of God! It started with a theological conversation. But, Jesus stopped, spat, made mud, put it on a very surprised man, told him to wash, and sat back and watched the action. I was reminded recently of a tract that I gave out when I was a child. It was titled "A better world begins with me" by Becky Burris. I guess I had it in my heart even at 10 to make a difference in the world. So when I look at the child welfare system, or the fire department, or the church, or Drug Free Youth, or Joshua Village, or Haiti I see opportunity for the work of God to be displayed. God's glory MUST be spread throughout the world. It is spread by the work we do in partnership with Jesus. Many see CAN'T. Jesus saw MUST. Many ask HOW. Jesus says MUST. Many say WAIT. Jesus says NOW. It is day. Night is coming. Time is running out. We MUST make the most of the opportunities we have NOW. The lives of the children we serve can be eternally changed if we do not look so much at the obstacles as we look at the possibilities with God's help. We are partners with Jesus. We are junior partners. He is supplies the capital. He provides the wisdom. He provides the miracle. We just work. Yesterday, like the story of Daniel who was allowed to sit in a key place in two world empires, God took me in three years from being a guest to sitting in the inner circle where differences are made. But, why? So that His work can be displayed. So that his work gets done. The children of circuit 12 and the children of Haiti and Kenya are His children, and He is their Father, and they are crying out to Him for mercy and help and life. Surely we MUST answer the call and work while it is day before the long eternal night comes.