As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
“Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
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The disciples thought this man was blind because of his sin or his parents’ sin. Jesus said it was so that the works of God could be on display. We often question in the middle of a difficulty why this is happening. Wouldn’t it be nice to have enough faith, that instead of asking why it’s happening, we are instead asking how we can use this experience/difficulty for God? I’m not making light of anyone’s struggles. But the goal for us should be to not allow our struggles to determine our relationship with God and others, but allow God to determine how we approach and handle our struggles. We can bring God glory through our difficulties. We just have to have some faith. Jesus applies the mud…Jesus died for you and me. The man, however, had to go wash…and you and I have to respond accordingly to the cross.
A Journey With Jesus 