Practical Answers to Theological Questions

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 works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

There is so much happening in this event John records for us in the 9th chapter of his gospel we will only be able to touch on one point.  Jesus and his disciples come across a man born blind, an interesting subject on the question of sickness in the world.  "Where does it come from?" his disciples wondered.  How many of us have asked this same question throughout the ages?

A logical question for sure.  We look around the world and see imperfection: sickness, disease, deformity, and something inside of us says, "it should not be like this.  Something has gone wrong?"  Unable to fix it, we do the next best thing (at least in our eyes) we try to assign blame.  We ask, "whose fault is this?  This is not right, this is not the way things should be.  Who is to blame?"

Isn't this what the book of Job is all about?  Things were not as they should have been for Job (at least that's what he and his friends thought) and so they sat around trying to figure out who has to blame.  The friends thought it was Job's fault.  Job rejected this idea and thought he could come up with the answer if only God would give him an audience.  But to Job's many theological questions, God only had practical answers.  Actually, in this case he had some questions of his own, very practical ones.  They could be summed up, "Do you really think you can ask questions of me?"

The account in John is like Job all over again.  A man was born blind, whose fault is it?  The man's or his parents?  Somebody caused this, who was it?  

But to their theological question, Jesus only has practical answers.  They are like two heads of one coin: God's glory/ his work.  He states no one sinned.  Here is an opportunity for God to be glorified and after all- this is Jesus work.  But it is a work that he will not always be able to do.  His time "being the light of the world" is limited.  Then it will be up to them, and by extension you and me.  Even then, time will be limited.  Thus, the injunction, "Work while it is day."  

Discouraged when you look around the world full of sickness, disease, sin and pain?  Feel this is not what it should be like? Tempting to sit down and ponder whose fault it is?  DON'T. Instead, work.  Work for God's glory, while it is day, "for night is coming when no one can work."