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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Symptoms of Sin

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[March 31, 2011]   --"Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him'"-John 9:3

In the old days, it was believed that physical maladies were symptom of sin.  If you had a chronic illness, or were missing a limb, or were paralyzed, deaf, mute, blind or mentally challenged, this was because you, or someone related to you, had angered God.  In this passage from John, Jesus and his crew have just encountered a blind man, and they assumed that the man had it coming, asking, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus answered them with the quote which began this e-votional.  It must have been a tough world that in those days any problems were simply assumed to be signs of God's disfavor.

But things haven't changed that much.  While we rarely hear these sorts of things from others, most of us have no problem making the leap in our own heads that, when things go south, it is a sign that God is punishing us.  And this, as Jesus said, is not true.  God does not use bad things to punish us, rather God occasionally uses those things to reveal His glory.  Sometimes God is glorified through something miraculous, as was the case with this blind man, but other times, God is glorified as we respond to the challenges in our own lives.  When times get tough and we, as Jesus' disciples, are able to face them with love, grace, peace and dignity, then God is glorified.  When we see others who are suffering and we respond with compassion, God is glorified.  Suffering is a symptom of this fallen and broken world, it does not come from God, but suffering always carries with it the opportunity for our faith to make itself more manifest, not less, in our lives and in the lives of others.  Tragedy, suffering, sorry and disappointment are never good things, but in and through God, good can come from them.

 

Prayer:  Holy God, help me to find you in the midst of my worries and sorrows.  Help me to feel your presence and to respond with love and faith.  I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

 [Phil Blackburn, First Presbyterian Church]

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