Fewer Words, More Life

Only those who believe in Jesus Christ can confirm whether faith in him brings anything to life. Many people may tell you it is not worth it or view the Christian experience from a mistaken perspective, unaware of how much Jesus can bring to anyone’s life.

On one occasion, Jesus passed near a man who had been blind from birth, and his disciples asked him whether the man was blind because of his own sin or his parents’ sin. In ancient times, and sometimes even now, many people believed that illnesses were a punishment from God for some sin. If God punished every sin with illness, not a single human being would be healthy! It is true that certain illnesses can sometimes result from sinful or careless behavior, but we must never blame those who are ill.

Jesus explained that the man was not blind because of his parents’ sins or his own. Then he went up to him, made a little mud with his saliva and some earth, spread it on the man’s eyes, and told him to wash in a nearby pool. When the blind man returned, he had fully regained his sight, and an uproar broke out throughout the town.

Jesus’ enemies did not want to accept the miracle. Some suggested that the man born blind and the man who returned from the pool with perfect sight were not the same person. The matter reached the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees, who questioned the man several times. They, too, refused to believe that Jesus had the power to perform such a miracle, and they summoned the healed man’s parents to establish whether he was the same person. His parents confirmed that he was, and that he had indeed been born blind.

Then the Pharisees called the man back and began trying to convince him that Jesus had no special powers and was merely a sinner like everyone else. To this the man who had been blind replied:

—Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. But I was blind, and now I see. It amazes me that you do not know who he is, yet he opened my eyes (John 9:25).

Many deny and reject the power of the Christian faith. Our speeches, and even our insistence, may make them reject it all the more. Let us pray that the Spirit of God touches their hearts, because otherwise, those who do not want to hear will not hear, no matter how hard we try or how much we insist. While we wait for God to answer our prayers for the people to whom we preach, let us strive at every moment to reflect the love of Jesus and the reality of his teachings in our lives.

God bless you all!