Wrong Question

Reading: John 9-11 1 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?” 3 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do.” (John 9:1-3 MSG) Jesus and his disciples were walking down a Jerusalem street and encountered a blind man who was cautiously making his way along, tapping the ground ahead of himself with his walking stick. As they stepped around the man on the narrow street, one of the disciples asked, “Teacher, whose sin caused this man to be born blind? Was it the sin of his parents or was it because God knew he would commit a terrible sin during his own lifetime?” Now there’s a familiar question! “Whose fault is it? Who sinned? Who’s to blame?” Something goes wrong, a tragedy occurs, a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, a house burns down, a financial reversal occurs, a tragic accident happens and we need someone to blame! As long as it isn’t my fault! Don’t blame me! Sometimes there is a cause and effect relationship, sometimes there isn’t. To Jesus and to people with a heart like his, the question isn’t “Who’s to blame?” The question is “What can God do with this situation to bring blessing out of trouble and a good result out of a bad situation?” I still get stuck in the “Wrong Question” mode too often. Today, I’m going to concentrate on looking at things the Jesus way. Instead of the question “Who’s to blame?” I’m going to ask “What can God do to make this better?” Care to join me? Prayer:

Father, Jesus showed me you can give sight to a man born blind. I know you can raise Lazarus from death after he’s been dead four days. Help me to stop looking at bad situations with the attitude, “Who’s to blame for this mess?” Please help me to look instead with care and compassion and to ask, “What can God do to bring help and healing and peace and light?” Help me not to ask the wrong questions. Amen.