Reasoning for Life -- 4. Light Shines in Darkness

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed how Jesus Christ, the Word, or Logos, was present “Before There Was Any Thing” (Click HERE to read).  By Him, Jesus Christ, the Logos, or “Reasoning for Life,” the worlds were created.  After creation and the fall of humankind, the Logos came into His creation in human flesh.  But, as we noted in Part 2, “The Creator of “Fitness” Didn’t Fit” (Click HERE.) and was eventually crucified.  Because we rejected Christ, the “Light of the world,” as Part 3, “Death of Reason” (Click HERE.) explains, many of us stumble in darkness.  Thankfully, although Christ was rejected, crucified, dead, and buried; nevertheless, darkness and death did not have the last word.

John 1: 12-13 gives us the “good news” (Gospel) that because Christ rose again from His grave, we need not remain in the darkness:  But as many as received Him [Jesus Christ, the Logos] He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  But what does it mean to be “born of God” or “born again” (John 1: 13; 3: 4-7)?  The Gospel of John give us many metaphors or pictures of what it means to be born again. 

In Part 4, of “Reasoning for Life,” we now turn to John’s account of how Jesus restored physical sight to a man “blind from birth.”  John recorded this in order to teach us how Jesus, “the Light of the world,” can restore “spiritual sight” to those who believe in His name.  That is, to all who accept by faith and Spirit-enlightened reason that Jesus really is God come in the flesh to die in our place for our sins, and rise to new Life to lead the way to Eternal Life for all who will believe and follow Him.

NOTE:  We have formatted our thoughts based on John Chapter 9 for your use in daily meditations in Scripture with prayers that they will lead some from darkness to light and believers to walk closer to God.

[1] Did Sin Make Him Blind?
Scripture:  John 9: 1-3
As Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from his birth. 
John 9 opens with one of many evidences that Jesus notices the downcast, lonely, and needy.  Upon seeing Jesus turn toward this blind man, His disciples pose a deep question:  Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?

Would you have asked the same question?  Many people today believe that health problems are a sign of God’s judgment.  Of course, carelessness or a sinful life can endanger our health and life.  But the Book of Job in the Old Testament records Job’s suffering as a lesson that God often uses our suffering for higher purposes (Job 38-42).  According to John 9: 2, the same God, now in Christ, approached the blind man with a much higher purpose.

Jesus answered, It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him (v. 3).  God had purposed from before the beginning of time that His Son would “pass by” the man blind from birth.  Blind not because of his sin, or his parents, but in order that in the ages to come God might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness (Ephesians 2: 7) by this miracle of Christ bringing this blind beggar from darkness into light.
Application:  Have you ever thought that someone’s illness was due to their sin, or their parents’ sin?  Have you witnessed ill or handicapped persons giving glory to God by their lives?  How can you turn your limitations and suffering into occasions to honor God?

[2] Does God Will for Evil to Exist?
Scripture:  John 9: 1-3
Christian readers will generally agree that health conditions like blindness, lameness, deafness, and leprosy are generally an expression of our sin-cursed world.  Yet in John 9: 3, Jesus tells His disciples that the blind man’s blindness was willed by God so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Some might ask, “Is God a good God when He preordains that a man should be born blind so that when the ‘bad’ is overcome with ‘good,’ God gets the glory?”

Applying this question to our day, some are asking if it is God’s will that members of Hamas would brutally abuse and murder men, women, and children?  How does God receive glory in this?  Maybe God is not good.  These are hard questions; and, they have been debated for centuries; indeed, all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Satan caused Adam and Eve to question God’s goodness (Genesis 3).

The Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC) thought the existence of evil was reason to question our belief in God.   He reasoned as follows:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"

Ellicott in his commentary attempts a biblical response: “Permitted by God, [evil] is yet overruled by Him.  It has borne its fearful fruit in the death and curse of humanity, but its works have led to the manifestation of the works of God in the divine plan of redemption. It is so in this instance. The blindness of this beggar will have its result, and therefore in the divine counsel have its purpose, in the light which will dawn upon the spiritual as well as upon the physical blindness, and from him will dawn upon the world.”
Application:  Do you believe in the existence of evil, and if so, how has its existence affected your faith in God?  How does the account of a sinless Christ nailed to His Cross affect your understanding of God and evil?
Resource:  
John MacArthur: “Why Does God Allow So Much Suffering and Evil?”  (Click HERE.)

[3] Is the Darkness Coming?
Scripture:  John 9: 3-5
After Jesus answers His disciples’ question (John 9: 2), He emphasizes the urgency of the work His Father has given Him to do before He departs.  Notice that Jesus includes His disciples in the work to be done:  We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world (verse 4-5).”

Ellicott gives us the deeper significance of Jesus’s message about the urgency of His mission: “The sun sinking to the west may have reminded them that the day was passing away, and that the night was approaching.  He will not be long in the world.  …night will be the close of His human work, and the shadows of evening are already falling upon Him.  His own great work of doing the work of Him that sent Him, could only be done when that day was present.  It has, of course, been ever done in the work of His church under the guidance of His Spirit; but the work of His own human activity on earth ceased when the night came (Ellicott’s Commentary).”

True, the darkness is coming when the Savior’s work on earth is finished.  But what Jesus said next should give us hope:  While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world (verse 5).  Indeed, Jesus was about to powerfully illustrate His mission by bringing a blind beggar out of both physical and spiritual darkness into His marvelous light.
Application:  Have you been transformed from spiritual blindness into new Life in Christ?  If not, click HERE for a simple presentation of how you can receive Jesus, the Life and Light of the world.  If you have the Life Christ provides, do you sense the urgency to win those lost in darkness among your family, friends, and acquaintances?

[4] Is This the Same Man?
Scripture:  John 9: 6-12
Jesus could have restored the sight of the man born blind by any means.  But here, Jesus stooped down, obtained some clay, and mixed His saliva with it for a paste to apply to the man’s eyes.  Some suggest that His action was to remind us of how God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils (Genesis 2: 7).  With that notion in mind, we see Jesus our Creator (Colossians 1: 15-17) who breathed life into a human-shaped mound of clay now sets in motion a process whereby a man born into darkness will be transformed into the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4: 6).  However, this man must respond in obedience in order to see the face of Christ.

By applying the clay paste to the blind man’s eyes, Jesus had done His part.  Now the blind man had to show his obedience.  Jesus sent him on his final journey in his darkness to find the Pool of Siloam (meaning “Sent”).  There, he washed off the clay, symbolizing a washing of regeneration by faith (Titus 3: 5).  The formerly blind beggar’s first glimpse of the world around him revealed some who marveled that his sight had been restored.  Others stood in disbelief.  “How were your eyes opened?” they asked.
Application:  Has Jesus touched your life and led you into the light of His grace?  Then, two things should happen:  First, like the blind beggar, the change should be noticed by others; and second, we should be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within [us], yet with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3: 15).  Is your life showing Christ, and are you sharing why?

[5] A Once-Blind Beggar Faces “Blind Leaders”
Scripture:  John 9: 13-17
When the blind beggar began to walk around seeing and telling his story, it made headlines in the neighborhood.  Soon, Jewish leaders known as Pharisees entered the picture.  They took great pride in keeping the Ten Commandments and hundreds of additional ceremonial laws and traditions.  When they were introduced to the formerly blind man, they questioned him and gathered the facts of his healing.  But instead of marveling and rejoicing that this man was healed, they condemned the Healer because He had done work on the Sabbath.  It was considered unlawful to do the work of kneading dough (or clay); and, more work to apply the clay paste to the man’s eyes. 

While they condemned the Healer without even identifying Him, they ignored the miracle, a happening that cannot be explained without a suspension of the “laws of nature.”  Instead, they called the Healer a sinner because He had “worked” to relieve a man’s blindness on the Sabbath.  In their pursuit of their own righteousness by seeking to obey a checklist of laws, they had neglected to show godliness through patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control.

But other Pharisees were perplexed because they believed a miracle had indeed occurred.  And if this Healer had worked a miracle, how could He be considered a sinner?  So, the Pharisees returned to question the formerly blind man who, having never actually seen the Healer, could only conclude at this point that “He is a prophet.”  The formerly blind man had regained his physical sight but apparently not his spiritual sight.
Application:  Have you or someone you know experienced a verifiable miracle?  Is it possible for a person to be so bound and blinded by a belief in “natural laws” and/or “religious law-keeping” that he or she ignores the supernatural, spiritual work God is seeking to do in lives and in the world?

[6] Truth Suppressed by Intimidation
Scripture:  John 9: 18-23
The Pharisees were faced with multiple threats to their religious system.  First, a supposed miracle had stirred up the neighborhood.  Second, there was division among their ranks as to whether it was a false report or real; and, whether the Healer was a sinner or a true miracle-worker.  They apparently decided to deny that a miracle had happened.  Meanwhile, they would gather more information from the formerly blind man’s parents. 

Here is John’s account:  The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  Then how does he now see?”  His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know.  Ask him; he is of age; he will speak for himself.”  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.  For this reason, his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

Application:  The formerly blind man’s parents were intimidated by the Pharisees out of fear of being socially excluded and possibly even excommunicated from the Jewish community.  Today, both “soft persecution” (being undeservedly ridiculed, reviled, slandered, or maligned) and outright persecution (e.g. incarceration without due process) exist even in the current political arena of America.  How does our current social and political environment influence your openness in sharing your faith?  How much are you prepared to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel?
Resource:  Gary DeLashmutt, “Responding to Soft Persecution,” Click HERE.

[7] Defending Truth Against Intimidation
Scripture:  John 9: 24-34
Commentators note this passage to be almost totally unique.  The Pharisees are facing off with a formerly blind beggar to defend their worldview and authority.  A formerly blind beggar faces interrogation in the place of Jesus to defend the position that something miraculous has happened.  And he does so with an obviously growing clarity and boldness of his faith in a Healer—a man that he has yet to meet personally.  How does this beggar who is gaining his spiritual sight from the “Light of men” reason so powerfully with well-educated Jewish leaders who are spiritually blind?

The formerly blind man, when faced with intimidation from the Pharisees, refused to respond on their terms (v. 24).  Instead, he gave a personal testimony of the obvious change that the Healer had caused in his life; declaring, Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.  Rather than try to refute what was becoming obvious; namely, that a miracle had taken place, the Pharisees repeat their same questions.  The beggar replies, I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again?  You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?  Whether he was serious or joking, taunting or sharing a logical consideration, the beggar’s response further shakes the Pharisees when he asks, “Would ye also, as well as myself, the poor beggar, become his disciples?” (Pulpit Commentary).

Application:  When we engage in conversation with those of a different faith or a different worldview, it is easy to allow emotions to undermine our “gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3: 15).”  Does the formerly blind beggar present a good example to follow?  How would your approach have differed?
Resource:  Paul Carter, “A Case Study in Persecution (Lessons from 1 Peter),” (Click HERE.)

[8] Defending Truth Against Cancellation
Scripture:  John 9: 24-34
As the Pharisees’ frustration increases, they progress from intimidating to reviling the poor beggar (v. 28-29).  But the man with newly granted physical sight grows even bolder.  He responds with a clear “spiritual vision” of God to refute both charges of the Pharisees against the Healer.

First, to their claim that the Healer is a sinner, the beggar replies: We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him (v. 31).  And second, to their denial that “This Man is not of God (v. 16), the beggar replies, If this man were not from God, He could do nothing (v. 33).  The beggar’s testimony was so well voiced that the learned Pharisees couldn’t refute it.  So, they resorted to condemnation of the beggar (v. 34) by “casting in his teeth the calamity of his birth as the mark of special sin (Ellicott).” And you would teach us? they added.

Finally, as if attempted intimidation, condemnation, and humiliation of the beggar were not enough, the Pharisees (v. 34) “thrust him by force out of their presence (Ellicott).”  Although the man was physically expelled for onlookers to see, yet because he had not identified his Healer as Jesus Christ, it is unlikely that he was totally excommunicated (v. 22).
Application:  Skeptics of the Christian faith sometimes claim that one has to “check their reason at the church door.”  How does the formerly blind beggar’s testimony demonstrate both reason and a growing faith in God, even in the face of abuse and risk of expulsion?

[9] Jesus Our Comforter and Judge
Scripture:  John 9: 35-41
Sometimes we find ourselves in trouble, perhaps feeling alone and hopeless.  We ask, “Where are you God when I need You?”  If you can relate to this experience, you may relate to the beggar who had just been shamed and forcibly expelled by Jewish leaders for suggesting that a Healer may have more power than they.  

The beggar had just given a heart-felt testimony of his faith in God and in defense of a Healing Man whom he had never actually seen.  But now, he is suffering the pain of ridicule and rejection.  Perhaps he is asking the same questions we might have: “Does God see where I am now?  Does He even care?”

The Apostle John records details of the dramatic scene in which the beggar finally sees his Healer: 
When Jesus heard [that the Pharisees had expelled the man], He found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
“You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
“Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

The beggar who once lived in both physical and spiritual blindness and darkness now worshiped His Savior who responded with these affirming words: “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind (v. 39).”

Upon hearing Jesus, we wonder if the formerly blind beggar remembered hearing Jesus’s words before He healed him.  Recall (v. 1-5) that Jesus was explaining to His disciples that it was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him (v. 3).  It is John’s marvelous account of how Jesus, the “the Light of the world,” brought light and restoration to a blind beggar that still brings glory to God.  Praise Him!
Application:  In Matthew 4: 10, Jesus declares, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.  But when the formerly blind beggar worshiped Jesus, why didn’t Jesus forbid him?  Can you recall a recent instance in your life in which you sincerely worshiped Jesus Christ?  Do you recall a time when your spiritual blindness was removed and you could see and repent of your sin?  NOTE:  If these questions leave you wondering, click HERE for a helpful resource.

[10] Am I Blind, Too?
Scripture:  John 9: 39-41
While the formerly blind beggar was bowing down worshiping Jesus, apparently surrounded by an onlooking crowd that included Pharisees, Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
Some who heard Jesus may have been offended.  “We are not blind too, are we?”

But others, including some Pharisees, perhaps stunned by the apparent miracle and convicted by the words of Jesus and the simple testimony of the healed beggar, may have asked, but with a sincere heart, “We are not blind too, are we?”  In every crowd, there are those whose hearts are hard and rejecting of Jesus’s loving invitation; and, those who recognize that they are blind and cry out to God to shine into their darkness.  [Note that Nicodemus, a Pharisee who had come to Jesus by night (John 3) and who had already shown respect for Jesus (John 8: 50-51), may have been among these who were being drawn to faith.]

In Old Testament times, God had instructed the Prophet Isaiah: “Go, and tell this [my stiff-necked, rebellious] people:  Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand (Isaiah 6: 9).”  Now, 700 years later, Jesus summarizes the spiritual condition of those who sincerely think they can see truth but who are blind and deceived: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains (v. 41).
Application:  Compare your relationship to Jesus Christ, past and present, with the encounter of the blind beggar with Jesus?  How is God’s Word shining as Light into you as a result of your meditations on John 9?  What will be your response?

Conclusion: “Reasoning for Life”
We hope this series, “Reasoning for Life,” has been helpful so far.  In a world where many people are confused about their purpose, their identity, and their future; they are ultimately seeking real truth claims.  While our world is full of “prophets” and “saviors” with subjective answers based on moral relativism and speculation, the Word of God in the Bible and the Living Word, Jesus Christ, the “Logos” (“reasoning for Life”) offers answers to life’s questions based on objective truth.  Jesus still seeks “blind beggars” who are humble enough to admit their blindness and ask for their sight from Him, “the Light of the World.”

Helpful Resources:
1)  For “blind beggars” – “Steps to Peace with God”  Click HERE.
2)  For Christ-followers, “Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life?”
     Click HERE.
3)  Wondering If There Is a God?  “Ultimate Questions” Click HERE.  Order copies, HERE.
4)  In a newer series, “Is Light Dimming and Darkness Winning? – Part 1. Christmas Contrasts,”  we address the responsibility of Christ-followers to whom Christ Himself has spoken and said, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill… (Matthew 5: 14).

Dedication:   We dedicate this article to our friend, former student, and Cedarville University alum, Brian Blair, Program Director/ Announcer at KCAM Radio, Glennallen, AK.  As they say in radio, “stay tuned” to learn more about Brian, his wife Laurie, and family in a future Oikonomia.   

Cedarville Alum Finds Treasures in Prison

Recently, we were blessed to have a long-distance, online conversation with Charles “Chuck” Lawrence, a Cedarville University graduate.  Chuck’s story illustrates so well how God leads His sons and daughters in the faith into fulfilling vocations which He has prepared for them.

[JOHN ●] Thank you, Chuck, for being willing to share your story.  Would you mind tracing your steps professionally since graduation from Cedarville University?
[CHUCK ●] Sure!  I graduated from Cedarville University in 2004 with a Bachelor Degree in cell and molecular biology.  My first job was in a biomimicry lab at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in nearby Fairborn, Ohio.  After about two years, I was granted a graduate teaching assistantship at the University of Notre Dame where I earned my master’s degree. 

[●] How did your graduate school experience at Notre Dame affect your career path? 
[●] My research involved infectious disease and tuberculosis.  However, it was my teaching assistantship at Notre Dame that helped me realize that I loved teaching more than research. I should also add that if I had it to do over again, I would probably have done my grad work in ecology.

[●] That’s interesting.  But you came away with your master’s and a clearer sense of what your career fit might be.  Then what did you do?
[●] I worked in public health for a few years.  Then, in 2013, we went to Tunisia where we started a cheese-making business.  We made cheese from goat, cow and eventually camel milk. Eventually, we added a maple syrup-type product from the sap of date palm trees. 

[●] Fascinating, Chuck!  How long did you stay in Tunisia?
[●] We returned to the states in 2021.  The export side of business was running into too many challenges.  Also, two of our kids were ready to start college.  So, we moved back in South Bend Indiana where I currently work for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and am enjoying it.

[●] Speaking of your family, can you tell us more about your wife and children?
[●] My wife, Kristin and I met at Cedarville University while we performed in The Pirates of Penzance.  She performed on stage and I was in the orchestra pit.  Kristin finished her degree from Michigan State and we were married after our graduation.  Josephine was our first child (now 18) followed by Charley (16) and Madeline (14).  Then we adopted Bujuga from Ethiopia who was already age 5, the same age as Josephine.  Our youngest is Olivia (9).

[●] I suppose you and Kristin are beginning to see them make career choices.
[●] Yes, Josie has an Olympic Weightlifting scholarship and is probably on a track to go to graduate school for Art Therapy.  Bujuga is playing soccer at his school and majoring in Nursing although he might think about adding or switching to PA or NP school after graduation.  Charley is in high school, loving his Welding program, and considering going into Welding or Industrial Diving.  Madeline and Olivia both have more time to seek clarity about their future. 

[●] Understand there was also a time when you ended up in prison.  Tell us about that.
[●] My full-time job is with IDEM, but in the summers, I’ve been teaching as one of the faculty of the Moreau College Initiative (Click HERE.).  MCI is an academic collaboration between the University of Notre Dame and Holy Cross College in partnership with the Indiana Department of Correction. College student inmates at Westville Correctional Facility (WCF) can earn credits toward an Associate Arts (AA) degree.  Those who complete their AA can seek admission to a Holy Cross Bachelor of Arts (BA)degree program.  They can enroll either as inmates or as on-campus students at Holy Cross College upon their release from WCF.

[●] Tell us about your teaching experience at the correctional facility.
[●] I teach a botany class as an adjunct during the summers in addition to my full-time job with IDEM.  I have taught at the community college level and at Notre Dame as a graduate student but I have never had the kind of students that I have at the prison.  These men have significant strikes against them to be allowed back into society even after they have served their time.  But earning a degree in prison gives them something to lose when they are released (that was their words regarding why this program lowers recidivism so significantly).

[●] I assume your main teaching setting is in a classroom.  Do you include a hands-on lab component?
[●] Yes, the inmates already have access to small gardens we can use for some lab work and small experiments.  There is an enormous amount of open mowed grass available to us and I would LOVE to create a native prairie space but I am thinking the controlled burns might not be looked upon with favor [Chuckle].

[●] I understand.  Maybe you could establish some small, say 5 x 5-meter plots surrounded by mown grass as a firebreak. 
[●] How has your teaching at the correctional facility affected you personally?
[●] My experience at WCF has changed (and is still changing) the way I think about my own identity; and also, how I create identities for those around me.  Before I began teaching at the correctional facility, I was pretty comfortable placing an identity on the inmates as criminals, convicts, offenders, etc.  And, although my students had committed crimes, I soon became convicted that I was assigning to these men identities that Jesus had not.  He saw them as His children; those for whom He had given everything. 

[●] That’s inspiring, Chuck.  Your relationship to Christ was helping you to see your students through His eyes.
[●] Yes indeed.  I began to think, "what right do I have to place on someone an identity that Jesus has not."  I began to realize that I had given myself a better identity than I was giving these men-- one that was clearly not from Jesus.  I had neglected to believe 1 Tim 1:15 - This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I am the worst of them.  How arrogant I was to give these men the identity of an offender, but not myself.  All of these men are deeply loved by Jesus, and even more, many were already my brothers in Christ.  I began to realize that Christ had given me the opportunity to be an extension of His loving heart to these men (Matthew 25:36, Hebrews 13:3).   Anyway, those are some of the things I have been mulling over since I finished teaching my Botany Class. 

[●] Thank you for sharing how God called you into this ministry.  Your response is a great example of how to integrate faith with vocation (“calling”).
[●] Thank you.  I love my “day job” at IDEM.  My boss and colleagues are great to work with and it provides the income and essential benefits my family and I need.  But, if I could be full time at the prison, I would certainly welcome the opportunity.

[●] Thank you again, Chuck.  It’s been great to reconnect and to hear how God has been working in your life, family, and vocation.
[●] Thank you for the privilege of sharing.