I Am, in Fact, Blind

Scripture: Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?” “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” John 9:39-41

Observation: Jesus uses the metaphor of the blind man to discuss faith ... how the blind man, once healed, is now forgiven of all sin. However, those who believe themselves to not be blind - and thus do not place their faith in Jesus - still have their sin. It is a matter of confession in the Messiah.

Those who seek redemption through faith in Jesus receive it. Those who believe they are justified by their works in the law, their own understanding of right and wrong, and/or their pursuit of goodness, do not seek redemption by faith and thus do not receive it. This manifests in the question of the Pharisees. The very thing they think makes them good - their works, or metaphorically their sight - prevents them from seeking redemption and therefore faith in Jesus.

Application: There are two things I truly know about the law as it is found in scripture. The first is that it, and not any other moral code defined by humans, is God's standard for "good". The second is that, no matter how much anyone ever learns or studies or attempts to comply with it, they fail.

I cannot be 'good'. I am, in fact, blind. It is by this understanding that I place faith in Jesus, for there is no other hope I could ever find in the world. Every other path leads to death ... and likely to frustration, anger, and pain along the way.

Prayer: Jesus, you are my Lord and my savior. There is no good, and no truth, outside of you. This I confess and declare. Amen.