Meditations Monday: Seeking Fault

Dear Lord; Happy Meditations Monday Father!

And once again Lord, we lay behind us yet another lovely weekend filled with family, friends and Your obvious Love for us all.  While the scorching weather restricted our outdoor activities, there were many Blessings to be found inside with good company, good food and great fun to be had by all.  Thank You so much for those days of respite Father!

Today’s Meditations Monday Scripture comes from Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John:

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”” – John 9:1-3 (NIV)

Now Father, something I hear quite regularly from people going through difficulties in their lives is “What did I do to deserve this?” or “Why is God doing this to me?”.  I’ll admit it, I’ve even had those thoughts myself over the years.  In the case of this passage, when Jesus and His disciples came across a man who had been blind since birth, the question was raised as to whose sin was at fault for his affliction; the man’s or his parents.  Jesus clearly replied that it was in fact neither, but instead was intended to allow for Your Grace to be made manifest.

This is an important and powerful truth Father, and one that I fear we all miss now and again.  As the limited beings we are, we try desperately to put everything into a “Cause and Effect” bubble.  And while quite often there are certainly consequences for our actions, not all earthly suffering is a direct result of a specific “Instigating” sin.

When my son Jonathan was born and we were initially given his grim diagnosis, I spent many hours asking “Why?!?… Why would You do this to us?!?”  I was angry, and scared, and very insistently sought answers that at the time, seemed never to come.  Ten years later, I realize now that Your Plan for his life, and for mine to a great extent, needed those events to unfold as they did.  Our lives, and the lives of many others were altered by his struggle, and Blessed in ways we’re still unraveling today.  We weren’t being persecuted for something we’d done, but were instead walking a journey designed by the One with the “Big Picture” in His sight.

“but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

Heavenly Father, as this week begins I pray that in times of trial you open our hearts and minds to this fundamental truth.  Let us see past our desire to seek fault and lay blame, and gain strength from the knowledge that Your Path for our lives comes from a far greater perspective than our own.

Amen.

~Phather Phil