Who Sinned?
“And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”” John 9:3-5
There is something within man that seeks meaning in his suffering. We seek meaning in our own suffering and we are apt to make judgments on the meaning of suffering in others. Victor Frankl, the Jewish survivor of Nazi prison camps, suggests a reason in his book Man's Search For Meaning: “Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds meaning.” So man relentlessly searches for meaning in his suffering in order to find value in the midst of the pain and loss. The problem arises when man comes to the wrong conclusion about suffering. The disciples expressed a judgment about a man born blind based on the prevailing cultural attitude that besetting diseases like congenital blindness were divine punishment for personal sin.
Note the "either or" statement which implies the only possible cause would be found with human sin. The disciples were right in some sense in that all sickness and disease is the result of Adam's sin in the garden which released millennia of devastation in God's perfect created order. And it also true that personal sin can lead to devastating diseases, including congenital diseases (e.g. STD, parental drug abuse, negligent pre-natal care). Jesus redirects the disciples' focus away from cause and onto the underlying motivation for their curiosity which is man's search for meaning. Cause and meaning are not the same thing. The glory of God was not the cause of the blindness but the glory of God was the hidden meaning and purpose behind the blindness. The healing of the man born blind was preordained to be an important sign pointing to Jesus as Messiah. The ensuing ruckus amongst the religious leaders is an indicator of the importance of this seemingly insignificant man's healing. The value is further amplified by the benefit to hundreds of millions of people who will be further convinced about the claims of Christ because of his healing miracle.
Naomi in the book of Ruth makes the all too common mistake of conflating cause with meaning as she struggled to process the death of her husband and two sons. “Don’t call me Naomi, [pleasant]” she told them. “Call me Mara, [bitter] because the Almighty [Shaddai, the all-sufficient one] has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted [the Hebrew means testified against] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." (Ruth 1:20-21). We know God didn't testify against Naomi but the works of God would soon be manifest in her tragedy and she too would be privileged to be an important part of the story of Jesus the Messiah. We all have tragedies that we struggle to understand as we deal with the pain and loss. The Elect, like Naomi and the man born blind, can always find meaning in their suffering because their lives are inextricably linked to Jesus the Messiah. Our story is His story. Nothing that happens to one of God's chosen is wasted or forgotten or meaningless.
Our lives are meant to glorify Him by being a platform to display the Lord’s marvelous works. Romans 8:28 gives us great comfort in the midst of our suffering "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Not all things are good in the moment; some things are downright horrible and seemingly senseless like premature death and congenital disease. But the Lord is able to "work all things together (with his divine power) for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose". His purpose becomes our purpose and His meaning becomes our meaning. May the Lord comfort our hearts in the midst of our suffering today that our lives might show forth the glory of God.
There is something within man that seeks meaning in his suffering. We seek meaning in our own suffering and we are apt to make judgments on the meaning of suffering in others. Victor Frankl, the Jewish survivor of Nazi prison camps, suggests a reason in his book Man's Search For Meaning: “Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds meaning.” So man relentlessly searches for meaning in his suffering in order to find value in the midst of the pain and loss. The problem arises when man comes to the wrong conclusion about suffering. The disciples expressed a judgment about a man born blind based on the prevailing cultural attitude that besetting diseases like congenital blindness were divine punishment for personal sin.
Note the "either or" statement which implies the only possible cause would be found with human sin. The disciples were right in some sense in that all sickness and disease is the result of Adam's sin in the garden which released millennia of devastation in God's perfect created order. And it also true that personal sin can lead to devastating diseases, including congenital diseases (e.g. STD, parental drug abuse, negligent pre-natal care). Jesus redirects the disciples' focus away from cause and onto the underlying motivation for their curiosity which is man's search for meaning. Cause and meaning are not the same thing. The glory of God was not the cause of the blindness but the glory of God was the hidden meaning and purpose behind the blindness. The healing of the man born blind was preordained to be an important sign pointing to Jesus as Messiah. The ensuing ruckus amongst the religious leaders is an indicator of the importance of this seemingly insignificant man's healing. The value is further amplified by the benefit to hundreds of millions of people who will be further convinced about the claims of Christ because of his healing miracle.
Naomi in the book of Ruth makes the all too common mistake of conflating cause with meaning as she struggled to process the death of her husband and two sons. “Don’t call me Naomi, [pleasant]” she told them. “Call me Mara, [bitter] because the Almighty [Shaddai, the all-sufficient one] has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted [the Hebrew means testified against] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." (Ruth 1:20-21). We know God didn't testify against Naomi but the works of God would soon be manifest in her tragedy and she too would be privileged to be an important part of the story of Jesus the Messiah. We all have tragedies that we struggle to understand as we deal with the pain and loss. The Elect, like Naomi and the man born blind, can always find meaning in their suffering because their lives are inextricably linked to Jesus the Messiah. Our story is His story. Nothing that happens to one of God's chosen is wasted or forgotten or meaningless.
Our lives are meant to glorify Him by being a platform to display the Lord’s marvelous works. Romans 8:28 gives us great comfort in the midst of our suffering "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Not all things are good in the moment; some things are downright horrible and seemingly senseless like premature death and congenital disease. But the Lord is able to "work all things together (with his divine power) for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose". His purpose becomes our purpose and His meaning becomes our meaning. May the Lord comfort our hearts in the midst of our suffering today that our lives might show forth the glory of God.