Therefore, they called a second time for the man who had been born blind and said to him, ‘Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner.’ The man answered, ‘I don’t know whether he’s a sinner. Here’s what I do know: I was blind and now I see.’
John 9:24-25 (CEB)
It is easy to label something as “bad” or “wrong” because we do not understand. The fruits of Jesus’ work should have been enough to “prove” that he was God’s own. The Pharisees had their mind made up about Jesus so no matter what he did, good, bad, or indifferent, it was another sign to them of his evil. The actual results, the fruit of Jesus’ work did not matter.
Sometimes we have difficulty naming what has happened in our lives. The man himself was not sure, all he knew was that he was blind and now, thanks to Jesus, he could see again. All that mattered was the he had been restored!
Today we still struggle when we encounter people that we do not understand. We make judgments, size people up, and engage them with our minds made up. The good that they do, the way that they reflect God’s kingdom does not seem to matter. Shouldn’t we look at the fruit?
My prayer is that I am always open to the way that God’s kingdom is made present by people that I do not understand, or do not fit my “idea” of who a Christian person should be. I want to be open to “seeing” so that God’s name can be glorified in me, the in the fruit’s of God’s kingdom, and in the other that’s so different than me!