This week at home group we were pretty brave in attempting to move through ALL of John chapter 9. If you know anything about us, this was a little ambitious considering it has taken us quite a few months to even arrive at John 9...nonetheless, we went for it! It also helped that we tried something new this week and asked that we read the passage individually prior to home group in order to get an idea of what we were talking about and formulate some questions and thoughts ahead of time. This really seemed to catapult us into the discussion, and we are looking forward to going deeper into scripture with this new format in the future.
This week our passage was intense and full of deep spiritual truth (as are most) but we really focused on the idea of our need to "see the Light." So, if you haven't noticed from our blog posts, we are pretty into catchy titles. However, we try to choose titles that carry a lot of deeper meaning with them, and this week I think it does just that.
Jesus heals a man who has been born blind. Never mind the fact that He does so on the Sabbath, rubs mud and spit on his eyes, and completely challenges the cultural idea that illness is not necessarily brought about because of sin...on top of all of that and a whole lot more, Jesus cuts deep to the bigger issue at hand. This blind man had a better chance of "seeing" than these men who could actually see because of his faith and willingness to trust in Jesus and who He was claiming to be. When Jesus restores His sight, it serves as a metaphor that when we encounter Jesus Christ our eyes will be opened and we will have the choice to let in that Light or not. This man upon his personal encounter with the Christ makes the choice to accept His healing and His very big claims, the Pharisees on the other hand have also encountered Him and made the choice to reject the Light He wants to bring into their lives.
The challenge this week was to let in the Light, and if we already have, to continually let it in and continually encounter Jesus and ask Him to reveal Himself to us in brand new ways.
Here are some things to think about this week...
1. What do you think prevents people from "seeing" or letting the Light into their lives?
2. What are some ways to continually let the Light into our lives and to personally encounter Jesus over and over again?
CHALLENGE:
This week, pray very specifically that Jesus would reveal Himself to you in new and fresh ways. Be paying attention throughout your week and in your times of prayer and study to see just how He will show up. It's a little bit more of a personal and spiritual challenge this week, but we would love to hear how you encounter the Light of Jesus in your life this week!
Yay! First comment!
ReplyDeleteAs per the first question, I think it really boils down to the two points we came up with during our discussion on Tuesday. People don't "see the Light" because either their hearts are not open/spiritually ready to receive Christ, or they have not had a sufficient opportunity to receive Christ, or a combination of both.
Turning the tables a bit onto those of us who have already had a true encounter with Christ, I think this puts some responsibility on us. The openness of hearts, we can't really change. But are we presenting pure, loving, and compelling opportunities for those around us to be exposed to Christ? How can we do that, individually and as Transit?
are you guys part of a bible study ?
ReplyDeleteHey buddy, we're part of a church called Transit in Seattle, USA. If you're in the area, we'd love for you to drop by and join our community. Check out our FB at facebook.com/TransitAssembly for all the info you would need. Happy days!
DeleteGosh! This is the question I've been struggling with most as of late. I am just SO sure that if people could know Jesus and experience Him the way that I have then they wouldn't be able to turn Him down...but the thing is people still do and that makes me wonder if I am representing Christ and His love well in my own life.
ReplyDeleteI think to answer your second question Josh, it's a matter of praying daily to be more and more like Jesus...so much of Him and so little of us. The more that we are able to represent Jesus and His pure, gracious, unconditional love to everyone that we encounter, I think the more we will see people receive His love and allow it to change them.
As for the first question, I honestly struggle because for me it seems so simple....why in the world would I NOT want Jesus and HIs love and gift of salvation!? Still people do not and that has always been hard for me to grasp. It makes me sad for people who have first encountered a perverted Gospel or image of Jesus rather than who He actually is and makes me more determined to make sure that I am representing Him well so that more people can encounter who He truly is right away!