Time To Worship
John 9: 35-38 (NIV) —
‘Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’ Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him.’
This week we’ve explored John chapter 9. There’s so much more in this passage we could delve into further, but this morning I want us to skip to the end of the chapter (after the Pharisees ‘investigate’ the healing and reject the man’s testimony) to read this stunning moment when Jesus reveals himself to the man.
Straight after the man was healed, he didn’t really know the full significance of who Jesus was, the extent of his kindness and compassion, or for what further purposes Jesus had healed him. It is after he is taken before the Pharisees and, under threatening interrogation, has loyally and persistently defended Jesus and the miracle before them, that Jesus searches him out, tells him who he really is, and welcomes the man home. This compels the man to worship and claim Jesus as his Lord.
At times in our journey with Jesus, we can feel rejected by the world, slightly put-out at the costs of following him and there are situations where we find it hard to defend our walk of faith to others. It’s at these times and places when we need to turn our gaze to Jesus again.
In this wonderful story of the blind man healed, Jesus reminds us of who he is, who we are. Can we do anything else but worship him? Our eyes are opened again to the beauty of our Creator and his extravagant love for us, and, if the fire in our hearts has died down, the embers are relit. Now we exclaim with the blind man, 'Once I was blind, now I see' (v25) and we are ready to follow Jesus with our spiritual eyes open!
Prayer — Lord, when I feel dry, rejected, tired and burnt out, remind me of your faithfulness and the bottomless resources of your grace. May I gaze into your eyes once again so I will be compelled to worship. May I loyally follow you all the days of my life, invigorated by your Spirit, trusting in the ways you are moving in my life.