Two Encounters

When the blind man encountered Jesus, his life was changed.  Never having seen anything, he suddenly was able to see everything.  Jesus reached out to him, put some mud on his eyes, and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam.  As soon as the caked mud washed off his eyes, he could see. He could not have imagined such a thing happening at the beginning of that day.  One moment blind and the next moment seeing!  It was a miracle beyond any hope that he had carried in his heart.  No better thing could have happened in his life.

 

But, as great as was his first encounter with Jesus, it was not to even be compared to the second.  The healing made such a stir, it came to the attention of the Pharisees who were protectors and enforcers of Sabbath law.  When Jesus healed the blind man, Sabbath law was broken and suddenly the man who could see found himself in some very hot water.  Jesus heard about the man's troubles and once again takes the initiative in finding him.  This time He asks the man who could now see, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  (John 9:35)  More was at stake now than just healing eyes.  When the man sought out by Jesus responded by saying, "Lord, I believe," (John (9:38) he was given eyes to see not just the world, but the Kingdom of God which was opening up now in his heart.  The first encounter enabled him to see men in the world; the second enabled him to see God in the world.

No matter what we might say about the important moments in our life, none can compare with our choosing to say, "Lord, I believe."  It transcends everything.  It is the most important choosing of our life.  It opens our eyes to really see the world, not as most folks see it, but as those who are now kingdom dwellers.  Until we come to that moment of declaring faith in Christ, we may see what we think is everything around us, but we are unable to see the most important thing of all.