Who Benefits When I Am Healed?
Tuesday May 7, 2013
Jesus was passing by with His disciples when he saw a man who was blind from birth. Did He just keep on going and ignore the man? Of course not! When we have a problem and ask Jesus to come and be near us, He comes willingly, and He will not leave until He has blessed us. When faced with this man’s blindness, Jesus said,
“I am the light of the world”. 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) The man obeyed what Jesus said and when he had washed in the pool, he received his sight. What if
the man had said, “I can’t make my way to the pool because I am blind or because others may see the mud on my eyes and laugh at me”, or some other excuse? Do you think he would have been healed? Why did Jesus require the man’s participation in his healing? Why did Jesus not just heal him right there by simply touching him and save the blind man the trouble of finding his way to the pool with mud on his eyes? I don’t know the answer to these questions. The Bible tells me that Jesus obeyed what His Father told Him to do. Therefore we should be willing, as the blind man was, to do exactly what Jesus says we are to do. Jesus knows what is required so we can become perfect!
the man had said, “I can’t make my way to the pool because I am blind or because others may see the mud on my eyes and laugh at me”, or some other excuse? Do you think he would have been healed? Why did Jesus require the man’s participation in his healing? Why did Jesus not just heal him right there by simply touching him and save the blind man the trouble of finding his way to the pool with mud on his eyes? I don’t know the answer to these questions. The Bible tells me that Jesus obeyed what His Father told Him to do. Therefore we should be willing, as the blind man was, to do exactly what Jesus says we are to do. Jesus knows what is required so we can become perfect!
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. (Hebrews 5:7-9 NIV)
Obedience is hard for those of us who have disregarded God’s word and decided that we know a better way. We tell ourselves that the things that “hinder us” should never have happened to us. We refuse to do what God’s word says will bring healing and restoration. Pride keeps us from humbling ourselves to “go wash in the Pool of Siloam with mud on our eyes”. We choose to remain in our blindness rather than let the light of Christ shine in our darkness. Who benefited from the blind man receiving his sight? The blind man did. He could see and therefore was able to live a more abundant life. His parents did as well, for through the work of God in their son’s life, they received the grace of God which set them free from condemnation. The community benefitted too. Now they had a contributing member to their society. Who would benefit from you coming out of the darkness that holds you in bondage? What would those around you say if they saw you healed and restored through the works of the living God? All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
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