REWARD OR PUNISHMENT?
"And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?' Jesus answered, '{It was} neither {that} this man sinned, nor his parents; but {it was} in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" (John 9:1-3 NAS)
Good behavior is not always rewarded nor is bad behavior always punished in this world. This is not an easy fact to teach our children when they first experience the effects of a sin-ridden world. By the time a child is nine years old, he/she has come to know these two axioms well. But he/she may not understand why. The world's explanation falls way short of the truth! God is blamed, fate is blamed, the "other guy" is blamed.
In John chapter 9, we find the account of the man who was born blind. The disciples are the first to bring up a common belief statement, "Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" Jesus gives them an answer that quiets them, "Neither", Jesus answered, "But to demonstrate the power of God. . ." (See John 9:1-3). Jesus does a good thing, He gives the man his sight. But the Pharisees, when confronted with the man and his healing respond, "Then this fellow Jesus is not from God, because He is working on the Sabbath" (v. 16). The Pharisees ask the man's parents who they think Jesus is and they, out of fear of what these men could do to them, deny they know anything. So the Pharisees question the man a second time, accusing Jesus of doing evil. The man explains that he only knows what Jesus did for him, that it was good not evil. Later, the man comes to believe in Jesus as Messiah. The man was blind but he was made to see. The Pharisees, who thought they saw clearly, ended up stumbling because of their blindness.
In the end, we will find that the Lord God Almighty is the One Who rewards the good and punishes the bad. He is the One Who will rightly judge the works of all mankind. Think about it.
"And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?' Jesus answered, '{It was} neither {that} this man sinned, nor his parents; but {it was} in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" (John 9:1-3 NAS)
Good behavior is not always rewarded nor is bad behavior always punished in this world. This is not an easy fact to teach our children when they first experience the effects of a sin-ridden world. By the time a child is nine years old, he/she has come to know these two axioms well. But he/she may not understand why. The world's explanation falls way short of the truth! God is blamed, fate is blamed, the "other guy" is blamed.
In John chapter 9, we find the account of the man who was born blind. The disciples are the first to bring up a common belief statement, "Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" Jesus gives them an answer that quiets them, "Neither", Jesus answered, "But to demonstrate the power of God. . ." (See John 9:1-3). Jesus does a good thing, He gives the man his sight. But the Pharisees, when confronted with the man and his healing respond, "Then this fellow Jesus is not from God, because He is working on the Sabbath" (v. 16). The Pharisees ask the man's parents who they think Jesus is and they, out of fear of what these men could do to them, deny they know anything. So the Pharisees question the man a second time, accusing Jesus of doing evil. The man explains that he only knows what Jesus did for him, that it was good not evil. Later, the man comes to believe in Jesus as Messiah. The man was blind but he was made to see. The Pharisees, who thought they saw clearly, ended up stumbling because of their blindness.
In the end, we will find that the Lord God Almighty is the One Who rewards the good and punishes the bad. He is the One Who will rightly judge the works of all mankind. Think about it.
© S.M. Hudson, Hidden Treasure Ministries, December 2003. All rights reserved.
Categories: forgiveness
