Mud On The Ground
By Emily Laurence Sardinha
John 9:1-11 (NIV)
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?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
There used to be this show on TV called “Undercover Boss,” maybe you’ve heard of it. Each episode, the boss of a successful company went undercover, working alongside employees who were under the assumption that their new coworker was just a clueless newbie, not their millionaire employer. The undercover boss saw firsthand the employees who were going above and beyond, and the ones who were wasting company time and resources.
The most satisfying part of the show was the big reveal, where the boss blew their cover. Employees who deserved to get fired did, and employees who went above and beyond were rewarded with promotions and lavish gifts, like a family vacation or new car. It’s satisfying to watch someone get what they deserve—good or bad. If only that was the way life always worked.
In this Scripture, Jesus’ disciples believed—as many people do today—that bad circumstances were the result of sin. Surely, sometimes this is true. The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is the perfect example of that. For well-meaning Christians, this is a comforting thought. It means that hardship and suffering can be avoided if you live right. But as Jesus teaches in these verses, life’s circumstances aren’t always the result of karma or “what goes around comes around.”
We don’t know much about the blind man in this story, but what Jesus makes clear is that his blindness is not his fault, or his parents’ fault; being born blind was just the hand he was dealt. “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him,” Jesus said before performing the miracle of healing the man, using saliva and mud.
We certainly don’t have Jesus’ healing abilities, but perhaps we can be the mud in this story; a vessel to help someone see God in the midst of their blinding hardship. Verse 4 says, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.”
Romans 8:28 tells us that God causes everything to work together for the good. The Message version of this verse says, “That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”
Good things—miraculous things—can come out of devastation. Maybe you are in the middle of a really hard time. Friend, God is still there. Know that God will use your suffering for good. Like the blind man, perhaps you didn’t deserve the cards life dealt you. What happened to you is not your fault. But this is not the end of your story. Good will come from it.
For those of us not in a time of suffering, we get to be the good that others are looking for. This week, think of how you can be the mud that God uses to help others see Him. As long as it is day, let us do the works of Him who sent us.