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I am preaching this Sunday on the problem of suffering using the story from John 9 of Jesus healing a blind man. (See related post, “Why Suffering?”) In the course of writing the sermon today, I went on a tangent about stumbling blocks to faith. I thought it was worth sharing separately.
The story opens with Jesus and the disciples coming across a man who has been blind from birth. The disciples ask, “Teacher? Who sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind?” What makes them think they have the right to cast judgement on this man? Why is it that disciples of Jesus Christ are always so quick to cast judgment?
Do we not realize how very many stumbling blocks this puts in the way of people coming to know Jesus through us? Now that I finally have in my life a whole circle of friends who have given up on church and in some cases Christianity altogether, I see with my own eyes the stumbling blocks this creates. I listen to my friends. I hear their stories. They finally trust me enough to share the things that have been said to them or about them or about people they love, and it just makes me want to weep. Or pull my hair out.
As Christians—as little Christs—we are supposed to move through the world in a Christ-like manner. Can we not open our ears and hear how comments like the one those first disciples made so long ago sound to those on the receiving end? Can we not open our eyes and see the pain this causes?
I’ll see you Sunday.
Jennie
Worship at 10:00 a.m.
On-site at 302 South Main Street Eureka, Illinois
Online at eurekachristian.org/worship-online or facebook.com/eurekacc/live
