THINK TOGETHER.
Have you ever played a game where you were blindfolded and couldn’t see? What was it like to be “blind?”
READ TOGETHER.
John 9:1-7. 1As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
In the song Amazing Grace there is a line that says, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” That line describes every Christian who has ever lived. We are born lost and blind. No, not physically blind like the man in today’s scripture. We are born spiritually blind. We are born unable to see the truth about God and Jesus. We are born blind to our own sinful and selfish heart.
We’ve already read one story about Jesus healing a blind man (see Day 35). Healing blind people was a pretty big deal. In all of the Old Testament here is not one single story of a blind person being healed. It seems to be something only Jesus could do.
The good news is that Jesus loves to give us our sight back. When we trust in Jesus it is like he takes off a blindfold that was covering our hearts. If you’ve ever played a game blindfolded, then you know a little bit of how hard it is to not see where you are going. I remember in elementary school, at our field day, we played a game where I was blindfolded and had to go through an obstacle course without being able to see anything. My teammate was supposed to “talk me through it,” but it was still really hard.
That’s sort of what life is like without Jesus. We are blindfolded but still trying to make it through life. Sure, maybe people are “talking us through it,” but until we have our eyes opened by Jesus life will always be stumbling and fumbling and bumping into things. What do I mean?
Well let’s say that you don’t trust Jesus and his love for you, then you won’t know how to get around people who are mean and unkind. Instead of being able to move past them, you will be like a blindfolded person who runs into trouble. Maybe you will want to be mean back to them. Or maybe you will let how they treat you make you so sad that you stop remembering how to be happy.
You know the man that Jesus healed in today’s story was treated meanly too. Because he chose to trust in Jesus and tell everyone about him, the religious leaders kicked him out of the synagogue (the church). That meant that he was now supposed to be treated as an outcast by everyone in the town. But he didn’t care. Why not? Because he knew that if Jesus loved him and if Jesus saved him, everything would be alright in the end. Do you know that? Do you believe it?
Because of Jesus we are no longer blind.
With Jesus we can see how much God loves us.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Play a blindfold game like “pin the tail on the donkey.” Talk about what it feels like to be “blind.” In what ways are we all spiritually blind before Jesus heals us?
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, open my eyes to the love of Jesus. Amen.
TLICfamily 