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By Mike Caton

John 9:3, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Were the man and his parents sinless? No, of course not. But Jesus is saying that they have not done anything personally to cause this man’s blindness. The truth is, we live in a fallen world. Remember back to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve chose to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They chose to disobey God. When you think about it, they already knew good from evil, God had told them not to eat from that tree, period. Before they ate, they knew it was wrong, but they chose to eat anyway. And as a result, the world was cursed. They lived in a perfect place, with God coming to walk with them in the cool of the day. But they gave that up.

And as a result, all manner of things changed: man began to die as he could no longer eat from the tree of life, the woman was given pain in childbirth and her husband ruled over her, the ground was cursed with thorns and thistles, all manners of sickness, diseases and troubles were released on the world; cancer, heart problems, dementias, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and so forth. Many of our problems can be traced to living in a fallen world. And to be honest, people do suffer for the poor choices, the sinful choices they make. Oftentimes, we are our own worst enemy.

But that is not always the case, and even when it is our own fault that we suffer, we need to look for the greater good. This man was born blind, through no fault of his own or his parents, but the result would be that God’s works might be displayed in him. Consider that for a moment, what problem do you have in your life? And a better question is, am I allowing God’s mighty works to be displayed through me? You see, it is not what happens to us that is so important, it is how we respond to those things. Do you sit around and complain about your fate – oh woe is me, life is so unfair, I never get any breaks? Or do you look for ways to let God shine even in those troubles? Are you an encourager or a complainer? Do you look for ways to bless others or do you wait for someone to take care of you? It really comes down to our attitude. And even if we don’t have any problems, we can look for ways to bless others in theirs. We can be the blessing to them, the hands and feet of Jesus. You see, it really comes back to our attitude.

Father, help me see and be a blessing. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works part time with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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