Light of God's Glory

During the time of the year when we give thanks for the things we have in our lives, it should remind us of the blessings that can only be credited to God.

All of creation is made by Him and while some of us acknowledge what God has given us, there are those who take the credit for themselves for the things they have in their lives.

There are major themes within our lives when we take credit where God deserves the glory.

The Lantern Shines on the Hills and in the Valleys

Often we associated hard work with being able to overcome the trials of life. Whether it is through our dedication, perseverance, or commitment to the end goal we believe that it is our natural gifts and talents that give us the ability to achieve so much.

We do not like to believe that our lives may be an opportunity for someone else to witness God at work through us.

In the times of our lives when we are overcoming, we rejoice and take credit.

In the times of our lives when we are suffering, we mourn and place blame.

God Shines Through Our Lives

We are often convinced that we exist as the exaltation for others around us to enjoy. In John, we discovered a man lame in Chapter 5 who did not want to give God the credit at first for his healing. He was hiding the light that God was trying to shine through his life to the world.

If we give credit where credit is due, we allow God to be displayed to the world.

As a disciple, we often question God’s motives.

This is no different now than during the time Jesus walked among those in Jerusalem.

John 9:1-11

John 9:1 NASB95

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

John 9:2 NASB95

And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”

John 9:3 NASB95

Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 9:4 NASB95

“We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

John 9:5 NASB95

“While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

John 9:6 NASB95

When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,

John 9:7 NASB95

and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

John 9:8 NASB95

Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”

John 9:9 NASB95

Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”

John 9:10 NASB95

So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”

John 9:11 NASB95

He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”

Properly Display God’s Glory

John 9:1 NASB95

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

John 9:2 NASB95

And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”

People often assume the worst of people if there is something physically different about them. During the time of Christ, those with leprosy, blindness, and other illnesses were assumed to have brought their afflictions upon them through either the sins of their ancestors or some sin in their life.

I have even heard it recently that the actions which surround our lives are the cause of our hardened hearts against others.

John 9:3 NASB95

Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Jesus proclaims that God’s glory may be displayed through this person. Not that the sin in anyone’s life caused something to happen. Jesus prepares those who are following Him to watch for where He is working in the world. We are to see where God is working.

We are not to pity those who we believe to be bystanders alongside our lives. But we are to get involved in those lives as messengers of God so that God’s work becomes evident through us.

John 9:4 NASB95

“We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Time is not infinite for this world and God’s will has set a time for things in the future to happen.

John 9:5 NASB95

“While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

As long as we are doing the works that God has set before us, then the light of the world, Jesus Christ, may be displayed among the world.

John 9:6 NASB95

When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,

Genesis 2:7 NASB95

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Only God could take the dust from the ground and make the blind man whole again. The reversal of whatever was causing the man’s blindness was made whole be the forming of the ground into a healing salve. John’s reference to the taking of the ground and applying the dust to the

John 9:7 NASB95

and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

Jesus telling the man to go wash is symbolic of a ritual purity washing. Once the man was made spiritually clean, Jesus commands the man to become physically clean as well.

We profess our inward belief through the evidence of baptism. The act in itself is not what makes us whole, but the commitment to follow through with what Jesus has commanded us to do should be enough to obey if we believe Him to be who He is.

John 9:8 NASB95

Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”

John 9:9 NASB95

Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”

Even when confronted with miracles, people will not see what has happened unless they allow God to open their eyes as well.

In this passage, only the blind man is the one who truly has his eyes opened. If the people had been paying attention to what was occuring around them, they would have known who this Jesus was who was performing the miracles.

John 9:10 NASB95

So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”

When this man came back to those he knew, they questioned him. He did not take the opportunity to take credit himself. This was an impossible task that was only able to be given credit to God.

John 9:11 NASB95

He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”

This is exactly what the blind man does. As opposed to the lame man in John 5, the blind man here gives God the glory and the credit that only God deserves. He takes no credit for himself other than obeying what Jesus has commanded of him to do. He goes and washes where Jesus tells him to go and proclaims it was Jesus who did the miracle of cleansing his sight.

God cleanses your blind spots

Only Jesus can heal fully that which is broken in the world. Look into your heart and recognize your blindness. Ask the helper, the paraclete, the Holy Spirit who testifies only of God’s glory to search your heart for where you are taking credit for what God has accomplished.

Are you allowing Jesus to shine through your life as the light of the world that He is or are you keeping this light hidden by looking upon those without healing in pity and not prayer?

All people of the world are capable of belonging to God’s family. Do not let your hardened heart misunderstand the nature of God’s works.

The dust of the world is what we are made from and it is only through Jesus Christ that death is overcome and made whole through whatever means God desires to use.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

As we see in comparison to the lame man in Chapter 5 of John, the lame man was confronted by Jesus because he did not give Jesus the credit of healing immediately.

However, the blind man gives Jesus the credit and God’s glory is on display through the testimony of that man.

It takes a humility beyond our comprehension to continue to point to Jesus when the world cannot see Him.

Through our healing, our cleansing, and our testimony Jesus is on display for the world to see.

It will prompt others to ask, “Where is this person who healed you?”

Give God the glory when they ask.

Wrap Up

Kruse, Colin G.. 2008. John. Illinois: InterVarsity Press. Accessed November 13, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.

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