To Encourage You

John 9:3 “Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Do you know anyone whom God has changed; someone that used to be one way, but is now totally transformed?  They were a person who lived a life of sin. They were like everyone else around them.  Perhaps they were drunk all the time, had a filthy mouth, cared only about themselves, and had absolutely no interest in spiritual things.  But all of a sudden, their lives changed.  Seemingly overnight their bad habits stopped. They no longer ran with the same crowd. Their speech changed. They all of a sudden started to talk about what God had done in their lives.  Suddenly they became interested in attending church and reading the Bible.  Their very nature changed as well. Rather than living a self-centered life they began to live selflessly. They loved people. They went to people in need and helped them. They gave of themselves and their possessions. 

In the account above, there was a physical miracle that occurred in someone’s life. A man that had been blind for his entire life suddenly could see.  The focus of the people who knew the man was on his past.  Surely, he was blind because he was being punished by God either for his own sin or the sin of his parents.  His past was what defined him.  He was hopeless, and he deserved to be, or so people thought.  But when Jesus looked at him, He saw him for what he was about to become, not for what he was.  His focus wasn’t on the man’s sin, or the sin of his parents. 

You see, it isn’t necessarily because of our own sin or the sin of our parents (although both we and our parents do sin) that we experience difficult things in our lives. Whether it’s sickness, or a disability, or a crippling habit such as alcohol or drug abuse, any of these things can be a part of our lives due to the inherent sin that is a part of all humanity.  We are all part of a fallen race, and the fact that we are all subject to all kinds of suffering and death is a testament to this.  It’s just the truth. 

But God has something in store for each and every one of us if we will but trust Him and believe.  God wants to display His works, His mighty power, in our lives.  It’s why He sent His Son – not to condemn the world, including the man in John 9, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17). Just as He displayed a divine miracle in the life of the man in the account above by giving him physical sight, He has displayed a divine miracle in each and every true believer by giving them spiritual sight. That’s the start of the transformation that is so evident in the lives of those that have been saved.  They are no longer what they were.  They think differently, they act differently, and they have different interests then they had had since birth.  They may not be perfect, but they have been changed.  Like the man in John 9, they are suddenly aware that “though I was blind, now I see (John 9:25).”  And it’s when such a change occurs in someone’s life that it becomes apparent to everyone else around them, for it’s hard to believe that it’s the same person, the change has been so great.  This is because the works of God are being displayed in their life.

So, have you ever seen such a miracle?  Maybe this miracle has occurred in your own life. Maybe it has occurred in the life of someone you know.  It’s a miracle of God. That’s the only way to explain it.  And it has all occurred to bring glory to God, to show who He Is, not who we are.  It’s a miracle that is available to anyone who will believe.  And just think of this. All physical healings that anyone ever experiences, even those healings that Jesus performed while He walked on earth, are only temporary.  Any person who has ever been healed later died or will die in one way or other. However, those healed spiritually are healed for all eternity, as eternal life is their gift.