John 9

Here's the chapter: http://www.esvbible.org/John+9/

Jesus comes across a blind man and His followers ask Him if the man has sinned or if His parents sinned. Jesus replied that neither sinned, and that the man was born blind so the Lord could show Him what He could do. Then, Jesus proceeds to put dirt and spit on the man's eyes and tells him to wash it off. After the blind man does this, he can see. The man was born blind because God had a plan that Jesus would run across him at that exact moment in order to heal him. Since we know so little about God, it is widely believed that He lives outside of space and time because He created it. If you made played a game of Sims, you created it, and you live outside of their time and space, yet you directly interfere with their lives. You can help them when they need your help, but they do have some independence to do their own tasks. This example is the same as how God is in our lives, but to the next level. He already knows what He will have you do and what you will do to change this course and what independent choices you will make. Further in the story, people who had seen this blind man before see a change in him, and they ask each other if that is truly the same man. When Jesus gives us our sight, we need to live life differently than we had before and than those around us. People should see a difference in us, and say, "Wow! That guy/girl is a Christian. I want to learn more about Jesus, so I can be like him/her." (That was a little cheesy, I know.) The people then call the formerly blind man to testify in front of the Pharisees because Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. He tells the story multiple times, and the Pharisees tell him they know that Jesus is a sinner because He heals on the day of worship. Still, they ask the man who He thinks Jesus is, and the man calls Him a prophet because he has not yet seen all there is to Jesus. When people first begin their walks with Christ, they have to discover Him for themselves a little at a time. The Pharisees finally call up the man's parents to testify, and they say that he truly was born blind. When the Pharisees ask them how he was healed, they are so afraid that they say they do not know, and the man is old enough to answer for himself (at least thirteen years old). Again, they ask the man his story, and like Jesus, he asks the Pharisees why they do not understand what he has told them. He also asks them if they want to be Jesus' disciples TOO. This man has decided to give his life to Jesus. When the Pharisees hear this, they kick him out of the synagogue. Following Jesus has never been the "popular" thing to do. For example, I'm at a college with 35,000 students, and roughly a tenth are predicted to attend some campus ministry or nearby church regularly, yet I am proud to stand up on my faith in Jesus Christ. If you accept Christ, and your friends can't handle that and dump you, you are probably better off because you need friends who will advance your walk, not drag you down. But you have to walk away knowing that those people didn't matter anyway. Later, Jesus finds the man and asks him if he believes in the Son of Man. The healed man replies that if Jesus shows him the Son of Man, he will believe. Jesus says that He is the Son of Man, and the formerly blind man falls to the ground and says he believes. Then, Jesus says that He has come to give the blind sight and take sight from those who can see. This refers to the Jews, like the Pharisees, who believe that Jesus is not the Son of Man. Before He came to Earth, they could see spiritually, but since they do not believe in the one sent by God, they will become spiritually blind upon the resurrection. Then, the gentiles, or the Jews who turn their lives to God after they had given up hope because they who so sinful, were spiritually blind, but now they can see. It doesn't matter if you've committed a sin so bad you can't think of anything worse, you can find grace in Jesus. Jesus associated with the most sinful of men because they knew that they needed to listen, and in the end, they are the one's in heaven now.