What’s Your Story?
By Joslyn Jayaram
18 The Jews[a] did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus[b] to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 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.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Isn’t this amazing? Humans have not changed one bit. If we can’t explain the miracle, then we try to discredit the problem. Maybe he wasn’t even blind to begin with! If they can prove this guy wasn’t even blind, then this was no miracle at all. This guy was blind, not mute, yet the Pharisees wouldn’t listen to him! Here’s a grown man, and yet they go back to his parents: Are you sure he was born blind? They want to discredit his testimony, take away the test!
Yet, the harsh reality for this blind-but-now-seeing man didn’t stop there. They go to his parents, who already know how he was healed, yet they play dumb. “Ask him.” There was no standing up for their son, they were more afraid of their religious leaders.
Now, for the biggest blow, the religious leaders bring in God. “Give glory to God…” It’s as though the religious leaders are asking, “Would you even lie to God?”
Application:
Sometimes, when we have an important story to tell, we go through these same reactions from our community. They don’t want to hear how we’ve changed. Those that are close to us, maybe even witnesses, don’t really want to get involved. We are made to feel alone. And then, the biggest blow, somebody uses religion to put us down.
I love this man’s response, verse 25: “He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’”
We may get caught it in a deep web of trying to prove things about God when we start to tell others we are Christian. People may suck us into a religious pontification of distractions and difficult questions on theology. Stick to the facts, go ahead and share your story. If you don’t know all the answers, just say so, “… v. 25, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Your testimony doesn’t always have to have all the answers. You can always point people back to the One who does have all the answers (just like this man does later in this chapter). We are just called to be great eyewitnesses. Go ahead, share your story. People may try to discredit you, but take heart, you are in good company.
My favorite part of this story comes later (beyond the scope of today’s excerpt) in verse 35, “Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him…”
If you are feeling lonely today, feeling that no one understands you, feeling that no one believes you, I want you to know that the story doesn’t end there! Jesus will come and find you! He’ll never leave you! Isn’t that awesome?
Prayer:
Father, today I’m praying for those with a great story to tell. They may be feeling afraid, may be encountering a lot of people that not just don’t believe them, but try to discredit them. I pray that You come and find them. I pray for comfort, for peace, and for boldness. Most of all I pray that You keep doing the work of making those who are blind to see You. In Your Glorious Name I pray, Amen.