Difference

Re:Verse passage – John 9: 1-3 (day four)

Knowing how to engage with someone who is different from you is challenging – this was true in ancient Israel and it remains true today. When we see someone who is different from us, especially in a way that is physical or obvious to our eyes, we might find ourselves feeling uncomfortable or not knowing how to respond. In our own way, we may even search for reasons to “explain away” that person’s difference, just like the disciples.

But this man’s difference couldn’t be explained through the disciples’ way of thinking or cultural assumptions. It could only be rightly understood in the light of Jesus, the light by which see things clearly, as God made them to be. God created this man to live a life that spoke of God’s glory and miraculous nature. Later in the story, we read God used this man’s physical blindness to shed light on the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees.

Those who are different from us uniquely and equally reflect God’s glory. When we engage with difference through worldly eyes, we become fearful, distrustful, and search for blame. When we engage with difference through the eyes of Christ, a new part of the Kingdom is unveiled to us.