So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him: “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” John 9:24-26
When Jesus gives a blind man sight on the Sabbath, he sparks a heated controversy. The newly-sighted man is called before both his neighbors and the Pharisees to explain what happened; and after his parents give a nervous “don’t-ask-us” answer, the man is summoned a second time. “He will speak for himself,” the parents say in verse 21. And the man does.
While everyone around him debates the legitimacy of his healing, and the morality of the person who performed it, the man whose sight is restored is fixed on one thing: what he knows. “I went and washed and received my sight,” he says. “I was blind, and now I see.”
The Pharisees instruct him to give glory to God by discrediting Jesus—something that isn’t possible; Jesus and his Father are inseparable. Confounding his audience, the man does give glory to God—by sticking to what he knows is true.
When we don’t know everything, we give glory to God by honestly sharing what God has done for us.
The man boldly continues to challenge the religious leaders and their flawed arguments, until they insult him one final time and send him on his way. Hearing of the exchange, Jesus seeks the man out, and asks him: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. John 9:36-38
In the first words of John chapter 9, Jesus sees the blind man. By the end of the chapter, the man has seen Jesus. And it’s the religious elite who are left asking, “Are we blind also?”
Today: What is the one thing that you know? What is the most true, clear statement about the difference Jesus has made in your life? When we speak those words, we give glory to God—regardless of our imperfect understanding, and regardless of the intent of others.
Do you ever hear a little bit of Pharisee in your heart? Have you caught yourself feeling judgmental about something God did for someone else? Bring those thoughts to Jesus, too, and ask him to give you a bigger vision for what he’s doing.
When we give God the glory he is due, we keep our spiritual vision clear
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Meditations written by Meghan Blosser.