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SEEING IS BELIEVING

SCRIPTURE: "As [Jesus] went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." - JOHN 9:1-38
 
Remember the Magic Eye Images? They are single image stereograms with a hidden image inside them. It was always difficult for me to see the inside image, despite the loads of advice that people gave. Someone would say "Focus deeply into the picture." Someone else would say, "Let your eyes go out of focus." Still another would say, "Just cross your eyes and look." It was all about changing your perspective so you could see more of the picture.
 
In this story about Jesus healing the blind man, the blind man encounters several groups that saw his situation from different perspectives. The disciples saw the blind man as a tragic commentary on the sin in people's lives. After Jesus healed the man and sent him home, the man's neighbors saw who he used to be and could not accept that he was changed. The neighbors then took the man to the Pharisees, who sought out the truth, but the truth didn't match their viewpoint. So, they became offended and threw the man out.
 
Each of the groups missed seeing the big picture. The man could see. Maybe more miraculously, the man himself was changed, deep on the inside. In John 9:1-38, the man's encounters with Jesus took him from a community beggar to a witness that stood up to his whole neighborhood to an apologist in front of the synagogue Pharisees to a confessing believer and evangelist.
 
Just as I still have difficulty seeing the image within the Magic Eye pictures, I often have difficulty getting perspective on what Jesus is doing in my life and in the lives of others. When I do get a glimpse of a life changed, deep on the inside, by a journey with Jesus, Wow! It's incredible.
 
PRAYER: Lord, we know that You are doing incredible things in our lives. At those times when we are confused about what You are doing and why, please give us a new perspective so we can see and believe. In Jesus' Name. AMEN.
 
Janise McNair

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