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Suffering is Normal-ish John 9 · Life For Toledo

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  I'm thinking today of John chapter 9. This is the story where Jesus heals a blind man
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  and at first the blind man doesn't know who healed him and he's called before the Jewish
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  leaders and then later he meets Jesus and realizes it was Jesus that healed him and
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  Jesus even tells him who he is. In John chapter 9 verse 2, Jesus and the disciples are just
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  meeting the blind man and the disciples ask him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents
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  that he would be born blind. To this day people love to make the mistake of assuming that
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  someone sinned to cause any particular suffering they may be going through. As people of God
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  it's wise for us to avoid this mentality. If we sin, we confront it, especially in our
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  own lives or in the lives of those we are responsible for. Even as we do that, we must
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  not be quick to attribute hardship in a person's life to punishment from God. We also should
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  not assume that any particular suffering is a direct result of a personal choice. While
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  it may be true that people suffer particular suffering as a direct result of a personal
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  choice, that's not our job. That's God's purview. Ours is to reconcile people to God
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  through Jesus Christ whenever possible. Even Jesus said, I do not come to condemn but to
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  save. Let us be like-minded. At the same time, sin is a very serious issue and everyone who
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  cares to listen should be given the opportunity to know that we stand for Jesus and live for
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  Him, trusting Jesus alone for salvation and following the Lord's commands to the best
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  of our understanding and ability. This road leads to abundant life through Christ, not
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  only for us, but also for any who join us in faith and following Christ. God bless you.