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阅读约翰福音9:1-23
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1As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man 或者他的父母, that he was born blind?” 3 耶稣回答说, “不是这个人犯了罪, 或者他的父母, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 有的说，是他.又有人说、不是、乃是像他.他不停地说:“我就是那个人。.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 他回答说, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 你往西罗亚去洗.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 他们问他说、耶稣在那里?他说:“我不知道。.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?他们就起了分争. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?他说、是个先知.”
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? 现在他怎么能看见呢?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son 这 he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. 他会为自己辩护的.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, 要把他赶出会堂.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Many sports fans live by superstition when cheering on their team. They act as if an individual play or the final outcome is tied to something they did. 他们穿着幸运球衣, 坐在某个座位上, 吃特定的食物, 或者从事仪式性行为, 希望能影响比赛.
我们对生活的看法可能是一样的. We talk about karma and say if we do good, good will come back to us. We warn against putting out bad energy because it always causes bad energy to come back. When bad things happen we want to figure out what we (or someone else) did to cause them. 最糟糕的是, 当我们无法确定原因时, we may accuse God of being cruel and unjust to allow such things.
This is typical reasoning for sinful people. 这是我们的第一反应. It is why the disciples asked Jesus if a man’s blindness was caused by his sin 或者他的父母’ sin. Superstition seems silly in a sports context. Yet, for some reason we think it makes sense when applied to our lives and even to spiritual matters.
Of course, this is not to say that our choices do not have consequences. Obviously many bad decisions directly correspond to consequences. If you plagiarize, you will most likely fail the assignment. If you commit a crime, you may be arrested and face many other consequences in life.
但这并不总是关于我们. When we think of cause and effect in spiritual matters, we may fail to take into account the existence of evil and the work of the devil.
There is someone in this world who is out to destroy the good that God has created. When something bad happens which we consider unjust, 我们倾向于找一个原因, 忘记一个堕落的世界, 我们脆弱有罪的肉体, 也是一股活跃的邪恶力量. We forget that Christ has overcome and victory is already certain, but that God patiently allows the world to continue, 邪恶依然存在. This is one reason we earnestly pray for Christ’s return.
When we are troubled by the tragic results of evil in this world, remember that there is One who fights on our behalf, 指引着世界的进程, 用他的仁慈介入. 我们可能并不总是理解上帝的方式, but he has made his goodness and grace abundantly clear through his Son. We can be confident that our final outcome is not in question, 这, even in the midst of all that results from evil, 神所成就的是美好而有恩典的事.
祈祷: Lord, this world often seems like a mess of tragedy and injustice. While I do not always understand your ways, help me to trust in your wisdom and mercy. 当我忍受困难或困苦时, 发挥你的优势, that through such things my faith may be strengthened and I might be a blessing to others. 阿门.