Well,
this is a first for me; I have seen the inside of waves before, but
never from THIS ANGLE. Notice how perfectly clear the water is
BEFORE the turbulence and how white the crashing wave is when it is
stirred up. That this is a perfectly natural phenomenon is obvious,
but it reminded me of how some people want to muddy the waters of an
obvious understanding the truth to a man-made one.
The
best example of know of this concept is found in the Gospel of
John, the ninth chapter. Specifically, notice how the Pharisees want
to muddy the obvious understanding of the miracle of a man born blind being healed by
Jesus.
John
9 ( World
English
Bible
)
Joh 9:1, As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
Joh 9:2, His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or
his parents, that he was born blind?”
Joh 9:3, Jesus answered, “Neither did this man sin, nor his
parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.
Joh 9:4, I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day.
The night is coming, when no one can work.
Joh 9:5, While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Joh 9:6, When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with
the saliva, anointed the blind man’s eyes with the mud,
Joh 9:7, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which
means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
Joh 9:8, The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind
before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?”
Joh 9:9, Others were saying, “It is he.” Still others were
saying, “He looks like him.” He said, “I am he.”
Joh 9:10, They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes
opened?”
Joh 9:11, He answered, “A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my
eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.’ So I
went away and washed, and I received sight.”
Joh 9:12, Then they asked him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t
know.”
Joh 9:13, They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.
Joh 9:14, It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his
eyes.
Joh 9:15, Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he
received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I
washed, and I see.”
Joh 9:16, Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not
from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How
can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was division among
them.
Joh 9:17, Therefore they asked the blind man again, “What do you
say about him, because he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a
prophet.”
Joh 9:18, The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he
had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the
parents of him who had received his sight,
Joh 9:19, and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born
blind? How then does he now see?”
Joh 9:20, His parents answered them, “We know that this is our son,
and that he was born blind;
Joh 9:21, but how he now sees, we don’t know; or who opened his
eyes, we don’t know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for
himself.”
Joh 9:22, His parents said these things because they feared the Jews;
for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as
Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
Joh 9:23, Therefore his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”
Joh 9:24, So they called the man who was blind a second time, and
said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a
sinner.”
Joh 9:25, He therefore answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner.
One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
Joh 9:26, They said to him again, “What did he do to you? How did
he open your eyes?”
Joh 9:27, He answered them, “I told you already, and you didn’t
listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to
become his disciples, do you?”
Joh 9:28, They insulted him and said, “You are his disciple, but we
are disciples of Moses.
Joh 9:29, We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man,
we don’t know where he comes from.”
Joh 9:30, The man answered them, “How amazing! You don’t know
where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.
Joh 9:31, We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone
is a worshipper of God, and does his will, he listens to him.
Joh 9:32, Since the world began it has never been heard of that
anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind.
Joh 9:33, If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
Joh 9:34, They answered him, “You were altogether born in sins, and
do you teach us?” They threw him out.
The
Pharisees we not illiterate or stupid people, they were just
stubborn. If something didn’t conform to their understanding of the
Hebrew Scriptures or their man-made traditions- they simply would not
accept it, period; even something completely unique and obviously
miraculous. They went to great lengths to discredit the blind man’s
testimony (and therefore Jesus’ claims) and when that failed, they
cast the man who accurately testified to the truth out of the
synagogue (and therefore any fellowship that they might have with
him)
In
all this, I have to ask myself: Gary, how willing am I to
unequivocally rely on God’s word for everything that relates to my
understanding of truth and practice? Like the man who was healed of
his blindness, am I willing to suffer for what I believe to be true?
The reality of a Christian’s existence today is that many of us
will be faced with persecution for our beliefs in the very
near future. Are we up to the test? Only time will tell. I sincerely
hope that all who call themselves Christians will remain true to
their beliefs, regardless of what obstacles they may encounter!