John 9:1-17

As he walked 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?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents
sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in
him.” (9:1-3)

Why does misfortune touch some lives and not others? Here in
John, Jesus is asked this question. Jesus explains that misfortune
is not the result of sin; instead, every instance of misfortune is an
opportunity for God to make a difference.

The blame game is very tempting. It makes us feel better if the
problems facing other people are due to “corruption” or “sin” or some
other form of recklessness. Jesus invites us to step out of the blame
game and instead reflect on how we can make a difference. How
can we turn moments of misfortune and tragedy into moments that
anticipate the Kingdom of God?

The apostle Paul explains that God is the potter working on every
life. One area in which God desperately wants to work is our
attitudes and values. The potter wants to take our propensity to
blame and turn it into a propensity to transform. We can give glory
to God by focusing on “What can we do?” rather than “What
went wrong?”

—Ian Markham