Journey to the Cross

Pause

To be touched, helped, lifted up along the way. To be made whole.

Everyone longs for these things, especially in seasons of darkness and self-doubt.

God’s intent is that all the world will be mended—every nation, every person. Let that healing begin now in you.

Listen

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?...If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

John 9:24–27, 33–34

Think

Pharisee mode. It is activated when we convince ourselves that people should think like us, act like us, and talk like us.

The truth is we don’t usually have a strong desire for our blind spots to be called out and healed, especially if it means changing. We are not as eager to become disciples of Jesus Christ when we aren’t the ones making the rules. A different perspective can be threatening. It is far easier to name the change we expect to see in others than it is to soul-search in the mirror. In Pharisee mode, we cast aside those who dare to teach us something different.

Good thing God is not a Pharisee. God never stops loving us and patiently waits for the time when we can confess, “I was blind, now I see.”

Neil Myer

Pray

God, forgive me for my stubborn insistence on making my own rules, and expecting others to follow them. Help me to be your disciple in all that I do. Amen.

Go

Go now with a willingness to see things as they are,
And imagine the world as it could be.

We all have a story to tell
And experiences that shape what we see.

But there is healing in the truth God brings
And enough light to see just ahead,
For God is already in the place where you are going.