Dusty Gifts

Published: Dec. 13, 2021, midnight

b'Darkness. That\\u2019s all I\\u2019d ever seen. I\\u2019d heard countless people\\u2019s voices. I\\u2019d tasted numerous kinds of food. However, I didn\\u2019t actually know what humans looked like. I\\u2019d never seen one. I\\u2019d never seen the fruit I ate or the money I begged. But I knew the weight of the thin, round coins, and I could identify the fruits from their different shapes and sizes and textures. As you can see, I was blind, but one day all that changed.\\nIt was just an average day. I was sitting at the city gates on my cot, begging. I listened carefully when I heard people talking around me, and it sounded like they weren\\u2019t moving away anytime soon. From what I gathered, one of the men was their Rabbi. This teacher said something about \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153night is coming\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d and \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153light of the world.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d I scoffed. That was nothing I was interested in. I focused my attention on the busy noise all around me. Then, the strangest thing happened. I felt gentle hands put something pasty over my eyes.\\nWhat was happening? At that moment, the familiar voice of those people\\u2019s teacher said those words I will never forget: \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Shocked, I did as he said and, somehow, slowly I got there. At least it wasn\\u2019t that far. I ducked my head under water, and then the most extraordinary thing happened. I saw the clear blue sky and the blazing sun. I saw brown donkeys and tan camels. I saw all sorts of humans and the murky water I was standing in. Best of all, I could finally see light. I could see! No words could explain my joy that day. Truly, that teacher had the power of God. \\u2022 Teah Wipf\\n\\u2022 This story is how one author imagines Jesus\\u2019s encounter with a man who was born blind. (You can read the rest of the story in John 9:1-41.) This man didn\\u2019t ask to be healed, and he didn\\u2019t know who Jesus was, but Jesus healed him anyway. What does this show us about Jesus? \\n\\u2022 How did Jesus reveal Himself as the Light of the World to this man in particular? (Hint: Not only did Jesus heal this man, but He also found him later and had a conversation with him.) \\nThis is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 1 John 1:5 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nMatt.25.14-Matt.25.30|1Pet.4.8-1Pet.4.11'