John 9:3 Jesus replied, “Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but it happened so that the works of God could be revealed in him.
This is such a cool passage of scripture because it really hits home the nature of our humanity. Just to put things in context, earlier in the text there was a blind man and as the disciples are passing by they ask Jesus a question. “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered no one, this didn’t happen because of his parents’ sin or his own personal sin. Well this definitely was not the answer that the disciples were hoping to hear because the only other option is that this man’s blindness was from God.
We often attribute aspects of our lives to coincidences, karma, or luck. Especially when things are going really good or really bad. It is funny, I have a buddy named Dr. Scott who sends me “zaps” It is his way of showing, what some believe are coincidences, but in actuality they are moments that God is doing his best work. I have always enjoyed hearing the “zaps” because they encourage me to remember the sovereignty of God in all things.
What we learn in today’s verse is that, good or not so good, that these things are from God and they have a purpose. Now let me be clear, God is NOT the author of confusion (Corinthians 14:33), nor the cause of sin or temptation (James 1:3). However, God does allow us to experience different situations, events, and struggles not to see us fail but rather for us to look outside of ourselves and back to Him for our strength and security. This is exactly what the disciples needed to learn, so although they originally believed the man was blind due to sin, Jesus taught them that it was necessary to draw him and others to Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Take heart, God is gracious when we are grieved, He is faithful when we are faithless, He is purposeful when we are careless and He is sovereign when we are short-sighted!!!
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