There is often grace in silence. But there is always power in understanding. –Michele Norris
How many times have you heard people say that they have been shown grace? Sometimes they have been judged based on their clothes, hair, skin color, or habits. When we look at people, there is a human instinct to “size them up.” Many times our assumptions are wrong. What if Jesus “sized us up” in the same way?
Too often in schools, we notice how students are grouped: the popular, the skaters, the nerds, the rich, the poor, the outcast, and the loners. Then there is always a group of people that don’t fit anywhere. Educators are not exempt from this process either. As students walk into class on the first day of school they are categorized into the studious, the struggling, the talker, the happy, the pretty, the handsome, the well-dressed, the class clown, the troublemaker, and the misfit. We all make assumptions about people without knowing the truth. Listening to teachers and students categorize students makes me think about how the Lord would categorize us. We would probably fall into the disobedient, the unteachable, the prideful, the lustful, the intimidated, the unworthy, the unloveable, the pitiful, the weak, the poor, the rich, the lustful, the fallen, and the miserable. Whew! Aren’t you glad that the Lord doesn’t label us and treat us accordingly? Take a look at the story of the blind beggar in John 9:1-12
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi (Teacher), 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 work 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.”
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
“Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Think about what a beggar looks like. The person may be dirty, smelly, unkempt, and to some degree repulsive. What do we say and think when we see homeless people like this? We think that they did something to cause them to live this life. They did something to bring about a life of disease and destruction. If they want something then they should find a job and stop asking people for food and money. To some degree, we don’t see them because it’s easier to ignore and not acknowledge them.
But Jesus saw the blind man; yet, the blind man did not see him. The disciples saw the blind man; but, they did not see him. We see people, but we really don’t see them past the superficial level of what is visible. The disciples were not any different from us. They saw a blind man and asked what he or his parents had done to cause his blindness, and Jesus told them that no one was responsible for his condition. Then what is the purpose of his being a blind beggar?
Interestingly, sometimes it is not about the appearance of the man, but how the Lord will use the man to reveal his presence and miraculous works for us to see. After being healed the beggar returned and everyone asked if he was the same man. The tone and attitude of the people changed as they questioned who this man was and how he was able to see. The shifting comes as the beggar gains his sight, and the people can see the change. We are just like the people because the beggar is now deemed worthy of conversation.
The beggar is now clean, and he can see. There was no big fanfare or loud celebration bringing attention to him, and what we see externally changes our entire perspective. What we see is the extension of grace in the silence. Although the beggar could not see or identify Jesus, he heard him and followed his directions in going to wash at Siloam (Sent) in order to receive his sight. Even with our sight, we sometimes remain blind, but the Lord has a way of using the most unlikely to reveal himself and what He has for us. So we have to look beyond the outward appearance to understand the beauty of His presence and amazing grace in the silence.
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