Daily D – John 9:8-9
His neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging?” Some said, “He’s the one.” Others were saying, “No, but he looks like him.” He kept saying, “I’m the one.”
JOHN 9:8-9 (CSB)
My bride and I sat at a party conversing with the hosts. A question came our way and my bride began her reply. Knowing where she was going, I prepared to add my thoughts. The two hosts gazed at us with puzzlement. While we spoke, they turned to one another and began speaking about us as if we were not there.
Now I know what monkeys in the zoo feel like.
I wonder if this is how the man born blind felt?
People talked about him as if he was not standing right there hearing everything they said.
He who was blind now saw the world in an entirely different light (verse 5). Those who had seen him begging for years saw him now either as the man they always overlooked or as a novelty. He who could now see wanted to be seen. Keep reading the story and you may get the feeling that he might have been fine with everyone else continuing to turn a blind eye his way.
A young woman showed up in the church office one day to speak to me. She had spent a long time carefully applying gothic makeup and clothing before she arrived. What little counseling training I had taught me to be shockproof at what people said or did in times like these.
Apparently, my guest wanted to shock me. After a time of careful questions, she blurted out, “Look at me! I’m a mess! Can’t you see this is a cry for help?”
People want to be seen and heard. They want to be known. When the disciples looked at this man in his blindness before Jesus healed him, they did so in the same manner the others did after he was healed. They talked about him as if he was not there.
Today you and I will see some people we see from time to time who we do not really see. How could we let them know we see them? We could smile and say, “Good morning,” or “Good afternoon.” We could ask a simple question like, “How are you today?” We could compliment them on one feature or another.
It is amazing how giving people full, focused attention changes their disposition for the better. Who will you honor today with the gift of your sight? Who will you help see the world in a better light?
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I will give others the power of full and focused attention.
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Our Father, you are the God Who Sees. You give life and light and vision. Empower us to use these gifts to see, really see, those we encounter today. Amen.
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