Journey to the Cross 
Pause
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”
C.S. Lewis, Christian Theologian
Do you see — yourself, others, the world — as God sees? Or have distractions blinded you from seeing God’s vision?
By God’s grace open your eyes and see.
Listen
Therefore, they called a second time for the man who had been born blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner.”
The man answered, “I don’t know whether he’s a sinner. Here’s what I do know: I was blind and now I see.”
They questioned him: “What did he do to you? How did he heal your eyes?”
He replied, “I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too? ... If this man wasn’t from God, he couldn’t do this.”
They responded, “You were born completely in sin! How is it that you dare to teach us?” Then they expelled him.
John 9:24-27, 33-34
Think
Seeing isn’t always believing. At least that was the case for the Pharisees. After several rounds of probing this now-seeing blind man, they still wouldn’t accept Jesus as a man from God. You can hear the frustration in the voice of the young man on trial, “I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again?”
Have you ever felt unheard? As a young minister, I once expressed disagreement with a particular program at a youth camp my students were attending. Instead of respecting my opinion, the camp directors verbally abused me and threatened to send my students and me home early. While having been strongly supported in my ministry since then, I still carry the wounds these religious authorities inflicted.
When your voice seems unheard, it’s tempting to believe your voice is not worth hearing. In times like these, I hope you remember the young man in this passage. In the midst of insult and disbelief, he remained confident in his voice, ultimately becoming a teacher to his teachers.
Matt Andrews
Pray
Loving God, I can make a difference in this world with your help. Give me the courage to believe in myself, even when others do not. Amen.
Go
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that Thou art:
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
from “Be Thou my Vision,” traditional Irish hymn
Even now, God is giving you a new vision. What do you see?
What journey must you take to make God’s vision a reality?
