Tuesday 9 Apr 2013

Tuesday Reading: John 9:23-34

Key Verse: John 9:34
34  They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

Devotion:
When we look at the story about this blind man after he was healed by Jesus we begin to see a side of man that we don’t like to be reminded of. Before we really get to know God we do tend to have very high opinions of ourselves and we even go to extraordinary lengths in order to try and prove that we do. When others try to show us that we are just normal sinners we get upset and rebel. But when someone comes in from the outside and shows us up for what we are doing wrong, that is the time when we hit the walls and let everyone know just how we think that they are in some way mistaken or wrong with what they are doing themselves.

We need to look at the way that we judge others. “What?” you may ask; but that is the reality of the situation. We get so tied into the way that we live and think and work that when someone dares to show us a different attitude, or do something that we have heard is not normal or dare to go against what we say should happen, we blow up and try to break them down so that we can be proven right. And we do this even if we are wrong… We work ourselves into such a position that we are convinced that we are right without proof.

Our proof must be with God’s Word. That has got to be the yard-stick with which we measure the world and ourselves. If we do not measure up to what God wants in our lives then are we not falling short of His mark? This does not mean that we have to be perfect and do everything absolutely right because there was never a man like that except Jesus Himself! Instead we need to look for what Christ wants us to aim for and aim for that goal, knowing that we may fall short but that when we do, He will be there ready to help us back on track.

Shouting other people down without knowing the truth is a very dangerous position to be in. I have been there, on both sides of the fence, being in the right and in the wrong and neither is a pleasant place to be because someone is always being hurt. When we hurt people we push them away from God because we are breaking that fellowship that Jesus expressly said we need to aim for. Accepting the truth can be hard when we are so used to a lie…

Points to Ponder:
Do you live with lies?

Are you accepting what God is showing you?