As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is one of my favourite signs recorded by John. Why? Jesus both told us and demonstrated just how much God wants to turn human suffering into opportunity. Among other reasons for Jesus’ coming to earth was the Father’s desire to correct His people’s perspective about who He, the Father, really is. 

Jesus repeatedly declared His purpose to make the Father known. 

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Humans stubbornly believe that God wants to punish us, that He delights in judging sinners, that He is a killjoy who enjoys making us miserable. What a terrible indictment against the one whose 

nature is love! 

Jesus showed us, in His every encounter with His fellow humans,  that the difficulties we face are not God’s purpose but His opportunity. 

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV

…As Eugene Peterson paraphrased in “The Message”, “This is not about cause and effect. This is about what God can do.”

Th effects of sin in the world are neither God’s fault nor God’s punishment. Hardship and suffering are often the consequences of disobedience. If a child, for example, deliberately touches a hot surface when warned not to, and gets burned, is his pain punishment or a consequence?

The trouble is that people often blame God for the consequences of their own foolishness. “Why did He let me do it?” He lets us do it because He gave us freedom to choose and He doesn’t interfere with the choices we make.    

So, what does God do when we either suffer because of our own choices or because we are part of the trouble that has come upon the whole world because of Adam’s disobedience? Does He stand back and gloat, “It’s your own fault. I warned you…!”

No! God is love. Love doesn’t do that! God’s love turns distress into opportunity. 

Jesus also came to give us glimpses of what life is like in God’s kingdom. There is neither sin not its effects where God rules. There cannot be anything imperfect in His kingdom because God is perfect. Therefore, wherever Jesus went during His life on earth, He used every human dysfunction to show the people what God’s kingdom is like. 

When the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebul, He responded…

“If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭26‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus’ encounter with the blind man was a golden opportunity to show His disciples, once again, that the Father initiated and He, Jesus, carried out the Father’s will on earth.  He healed and restored wherever people suffered as a result of imperfection in the world because of the Father’s love. 

“After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

No miracle was too difficult to reveal the Father’s will to restore perfection to His suffering people…as long as the miracle put His glory on display.

Everything Jesus said and did in tandem with the Father as the Son of God on earth, was indisputable evidence that He was who He said He was and that the Father was whom He, Jesus, revealed Him to be. 

This truth has huge implications for us, His children, now. What if, instead of asking Jesus for help to  relieve our suffering or hardship, we changed our perspective? What if we saw our issues as opportunities for God to be glorified? What if we expressed our confidence in God’s goodness by declaring, “Let’s see what God can do!”

Doubt and uncertainty would become praise when God turns our mourning into dancing! Let’s make our suffering an opportunity. Let’s show the world how great our God is by celebrating His goodness before it happens!

…and then see what God can do!

To be continued…