He must have sinned!

John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

I don’t hear this as much now as I used to. When I was a much younger preacher I would hear this constantly. Someone was sick or something bad happened and everyone wondered what he had done to deserve such things to happen to him. That is what the apostles are thinking in this verse.

Jesus answers that neither is true. God was at work in the man’s life to bring glory to himself.

Cause and effect are definitely at work in this life. Many times what we do has repercussions or consequences. Most things will have some repercussion. But the first thought that we have must never be that God is somehow punishing us. If that is our thought then we have failed to understand His promises.

He loves us. He loves us not because of what we do but because of His grace and who He is. He is not out to get you. He is not sitting there ready to strike you dead at any false move. He is your loving, heavenly, Father, not your truant officer!