As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
- John 9:1-2

Imagine sitting in the dark. You have been sitting there through another day, wrapping up another week. You hear a conversation starting as some men walk by. Suddenly, you realize they are talking about you.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at the content of that conversation. Today, we want to pause to consider the context.

Jesus and his disciples all see the man who was blind from birth (note the irony in John’s telling of the story). The disciples respond to seeing the man who was blind from birth by spinning out into a theological and philosophical conversation. They ask a fantastic question and it sparks a fantastic conversation. Theological and philosophical conversations can be fun and enlightening.

But there was one problem.

A real blind man sat at their feet, asking for help (see verse 8).

Although suffering does and should create questions for us, as followers of Jesus we can’t stop at the questions. We who follow Jesus will find ourselves caring for the blind, the impoverished and the hurting … not just talking about them.

This week we’ll be looking at the story of a miraculous healing and the debate it sparks about Jesus’ identity. And as we read this story, we’ll also receive from Jesus invitations to join him in his kingdom work and mission. Conversations about Jesus’ identity always carry with them conversations about Jesus’ work and mission.

What questions come up for you when you see hurting or suffering people? What does it look like for you when you step beyond those questions in order to show kindness and compassion to the people who sparked them?