Jesus heard that they had cast [the man who was born blind] out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, “For judgement I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains. [John 9:35-41 NKJV] ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you’. These two witnessing elements are the key to believing in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for when we are ‘born again’ we see Him, and when we are touched by the Holy Spirit, He talks with us. The third and God-completing factor is that we believe and do nothing else but worship Him. Hallelujah! Only the Son of God can reach us in this way, and He does so by anointing us — not with oil — but with potters clay, the dust of the earth made moist from His own mouth. In other words, He makes us anew by mixing heaven and earth to create new life. ‘For judgement I have come into this world.’ We can often think of judgement as condemnation or punishment, and it can be used in the context of sentencing a law-breaker, and the word has that meaning. However, it also carries the idea of objective assessment and discernment. It can be positive as well as negative, depending on our disposition. If we are ‘abiding in Him’ we have nothing to fear from His judgement. Jesus, in revealing that His judgement was ‘that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind’, turns our preconceived notions upside down, or inside out. It is clear that Jesus always upsets the natural viewpoint of man, whether it be rational or irrational, for the simple reason that we are the creature not the creator. We cannot understand the mind of God unless it is put into us by the Holy Spirit. God — through Jesus Christ — changes our disposition and brings us back into intimate communication with our Creator, so that, if blind we may finally see and understand. Never assume anything that has not been made yours by faith and the experience of life; it is presumptuous to do so. On the other hand, be ready to be considered foolish for proclaiming to others what is really yours. [from ‘Disciples Indeed’] |
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Archives
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GEORGE and GILL STEWART |