Poolside Reflections

Another day, another pool, another miracle.  Jesus didn't have to make mud.  He had spoken sight to two other blind men, and touched others with His callused hands ever so tenderly, pouring light into their darkened lives.  But today He chose to make mud and send the man to the pool to wash.  Could it be that the first sight he would ever see would be his own face in the poolside reflection.  To see his own face for the first time in his life, especially as an older man, must be an awesome experience.  Jesus left him to fill his eyes with the sights he had only heard, as he sat along that dusty road begging.   In fact, he never saw Jesus Himself until after his interrogation by the Pharisees, who could care less that the blind could see, only that this Jesus had been working when He shouldn't . . . again.

Perhaps, that is why, tucked away in this amazing story of healing, we find a simple sermon on working.  Nothing infuriated the religious leaders of Jesus’ day more than His insistence to heal people on the Sabbath.  Whether it was a withered hand, a bent back, or a man born blind, Jesus never checked the calendar to see if it was kosher to relieve them of their suffering.  He simply seized the day and did what His Father enabled Him to do in the power of the moment.  He simply "did the work of Him Who had sent Him".  The fact that such events at times fell on the Sabbath was immaterial, because there was urgency about His work.  He didn't have forever to get it done.  In fact, he had less time to complete His mission than most men take to get use to a job.  He worked because He had to and He worked till He was done.  His final cry, "It is finished!" harkened the beginning of nightfall, when no man could work.  Until that glorious morning - the morning after the Sabbath - when He rose from the dead to infuse us with the life needed to continue the work He had begun.

We too, must see the urgency of the day, seizing the moment for the work that must be done.  We too, do not have forever to complete the task that God has given to us.  We must learn where the work is, and stop confusing the priorities.

Personal Reflection

Sometimes, the hardest place for the missionary to go is back home.  Our first furlough was a blend of emotions.  There is the greatly anticipated welcome by family and friends, the open arms, the catching-up, and the endless opportunities to share the vision of missions with those who hold the ropes.  On the other hand, there are the changes.  Seeing your hometown skip ahead into the future four years, not gradually, as most have watched, but abruptly, and not always for the good.  In addition, there is the familiar that no longer is - not because it has changed, but because we have.