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I'm thinking today of John chapter 9. This is the story where Jesus heals a blind man

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and at first the blind man doesn't know who healed him and he's called before the Jewish

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leaders and then later he meets Jesus and realizes it was Jesus that healed him and

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Jesus even tells him who he is. In John chapter 9 verse 2, Jesus and the disciples are just

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meeting the blind man and the disciples ask him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents

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that he would be born blind. To this day people love to make the mistake of assuming that

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someone sinned to cause any particular suffering they may be going through. As people of God

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it's wise for us to avoid this mentality. If we sin, we confront it, especially in our

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own lives or in the lives of those we are responsible for. Even as we do that, we must

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not be quick to attribute hardship in a person's life to punishment from God. We also should

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not assume that any particular suffering is a direct result of a personal choice. While

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it may be true that people suffer particular suffering as a direct result of a personal

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choice, that's not our job. That's God's purview. Ours is to reconcile people to God

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through Jesus Christ whenever possible. Even Jesus said, I do not come to condemn but to

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save. Let us be like-minded. At the same time, sin is a very serious issue and everyone who

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cares to listen should be given the opportunity to know that we stand for Jesus and live for

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Him, trusting Jesus alone for salvation and following the Lord's commands to the best

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of our understanding and ability. This road leads to abundant life through Christ, not

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only for us, but also for any who join us in faith and following Christ. God bless you.