God, who am I?

The devotional thought of the day:

35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, Jesus found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He asked, “Who is the Son of Man, sir, so that I can believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him. The Son of Man is the one talking with you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe!” Then the man worshiped Jesus. 39 Jesus said, “I came into this world so that the world could be judged. I came so that the blind n would see and so that those who see will become blind. 40 Some of the Pharisees who were nearby heard Jesus say this and asked, “Are you saying we are blind, too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you keep saying you see, your guilt remains.”  John 9:35-41  NCV

Open our eyes Lord
We want to see Jesus
To reach out and touch Him
And say that we love Him
Open our ears Lord
And help us to listen
Open our eyes Lord
We want to see Jesus  (1)

445  If you abandon prayer you may at first live on spiritual reserves… and after that, by cheating.

The Pharisees struggled with this idea of Jesus healing a blind man. 

They had even more of a problem with this man showing them the obvious, that the one who healed them was the prophet promised by Moses, the One they were waiting for, the Messiah and Savior, not just of Israel, but the world. (they had trouble with that as wel!)

One of the earliest praise songs I can remember learning to play is in green above.  Simple lyrics, some might say too simple. They are a prayer we need to consider, to pray for ourselves, to teach others to pray.  

They are what Jesus is getting at, as he responds to the Pharisees, noting their blindness, a blindness so complete that they do not even realize they cannot see.  Some would read Jesus’ words as simply chastising the men, but that would overlook His love for them, and the mission He has been sent on by the Father. (Luke 4)  He is there to open the eyes of all the blind, the ones that cry out to him for healing, and those who don’t even know what it is like to see.  

If we only hear Him chastising them, as much as I hate to say it, we must realize that we are no better than them. We have become just like them.

My instinct is that it is then we have forgotten to love a life of prayer, a life not just studying about Jesus, but listening to Him, and realizing that we can tell Him that we love Him, that we adore Him.  We get judgmental, condescending and condemning when we’ve forgotten this, and yes it happens to all of us. 

We get spiritually dry, our reserves have been depleted, we’ve been overwhelmed, and in our dryness, justify and try to find comfort in our position, or our knowledge. We are better than them, whether they be those who are new to the Kingdom of God, or they are our neighbors, or our family, whoever is the one who reminds us that we cannot see God at the moment.

The blessing is that it doesn’t have to be that way.  Repentance isn’t far from us, and the opportunity to pray is always there.  You don’t have to take a number or remain on the on hold.  

God is with you… ready to cleanse and bless and comfort you and I…

So Lord have mercy on us, and open our eyes… we need to see You!

(1)  A praise song by Bob Cull  1976

(2)  Escriva, Josemaria. Furrow (Kindle Locations 1975-1977). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.