Mud and Miracles

by Ricky Chelette, Executive Director

In our world of antibacterial soaps, germ aversion, and highly advanced medical treatments, we generally don't associate mud and spit as treatments for congenital birth defects. That is, unless you are Jesus.

Not recorded in any of the other gospels, John 9 is a unique account of Jesus performing a miracle. Though the entire chapter is rich in Kingdom significance, His use of mud and spit in verses 6-7 reveals something important about the way Jesus works:

He spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva.  Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (Which means Sent).  So he went and washed and came back seeing. (Jn 9:6-7)

Why did Jesus spit on the ground and make a mud pie to heal the man? Is there mud in the middle east that brings sight to the blind? Why did the man have to walk through town and wash in the pool of Siloam? Are there minerals in that pool that bring sight to the blind? Why didn’t Jesus just speak a word and restore the man’s sight? Why command a process before the healing happened? 

As you look at the miracles of Jesus, what you discover is Jesus often asks people to participate in some way in the miracle only He can do. It is not that their performance makes miracles happen; in fact, that is far from the truth.  However, I believe that Jesus knows there is much for us to learn in the process of our healing.  By participating in the process of our healing, we learn to trust the voice of our Savior, discovering the depth of our brokenness and the power of God. 

The blind man only knew himself as the label people placed upon him – a blind beggar.  Sometimes we too hold on to what it is we have always been, not realizing all that God has called us to be. We also sometimes believe that because “this is the way it has always been,” this is the way it will always be. The beauty of the gospel is there is hope for transformation. Change happens. We can become new creations in Christ if we are willing to embrace the words of our Savior and obey them.

The man’s healing was instantaneous in one sense—he washed and then saw (v. 9)—but an even more significant change took place in the man’s heart as he embraced the process of Jesus’ revelation of Himself to the man through the man’s obedience. 

In order for the blind man to experience healing, he had to let go of his former identity as a blind man and embrace his transformed reality – a healed disciple. He could not continue to hold on to old ways of living and believing because now he had sight. He was no longer walking in darkness but had seen the Light, and it forever changed him. 

If we want to walk in freedom, we must let go of ties to the past and embrace our new identity in Christ. We can’t hold on to old ways, old beliefs, or old labels that others placed upon us. 

The man born in darkness becomes the herald of the Light to those still trapped in darkness. What an incredible irony that a blind man—thought to be blind because of his sin or that of his parents—schooled religious leaders who believed they were righteous but weren’t. The gospel indeed uses, in the words of Paul, the “weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor 1:27).

Are you willing to go through whatever process God has in store for you in order to fully embrace the transformation of God’s healing in your life? Are you willing to let go of your “plan B” and fully trust in God’s transforming power? Once transformed, are you willing to declare the light, so others may “see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven”? We are all blind in some way. May His light penetrate our darkness and allow us to see our new identity in Him, reflecting His light to a world in darkness.  

Where’s the Power?

I feel terribly inadequate in most areas of my life, but especially when it comes to sharing my faith in the world in which we live.  Don’t you?  

When I write a devotional or prepare for a message, I pour over the words and sentences for hours, contemplating how they will be perceived and received.  I often wonder if my words will sound wise, inspire, convince, or stir the faith of others. But if this is truly my aim, then I will indeed fail. Why? Because I can’t make any of those things take place in another person’s life.  

Far too often you and I are spiritual posers, pretending we have wisdom and power but not genuinely connected to a source beyond ourselves. As a result, we craft lofty words, present well-planned messages, even have pointed and particularly parsed conversations, all in the hopes that our “wisdom” will somehow save someone.  We are mistaken. 

Paul understood that what hindered so many in his culture was not the lack of good rhetoric, teaching, or prose, but people’s desire to create their own wisdom or truth.  Greek and Roman scholars and philosophers would often debate freely and fervently. Paul was able to engage in these activities as he was well educated, a Pharisee among Pharisees, and a student of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).  Paul knew, however, that his faith did not rest in the wisdom of men, but the power of God. In 1 Corinthians 2:2-5, he states it plainly: 

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God).

As I read newsfeeds and social media post from liberals to conservatives, Christians to atheists, I see lots of the “wisdom of men.”  Our world is hungry for the next great sound bite or turn of phrase. We look for bits of wisdom, but rarely for the source of all that is wise.  As a result, our world is filled with an ever-increasing division between (for lack of better identifiers) “left” or “right;” “conservative” or “liberal.”  

In trying to stake out claims and positions, we overlook the demonstrations of God’s power seen all around us.  We miss God’s power in the transformed lives like those who attend LHM.  We miss the beauty of God’s people giving sacrificially and generously towards those in need. We overlook the kindness of God through the believer who personally feeds the poor, invites others into their home who feel displaced, or who simply sit by the side of one who is hurting or grieving.

Let’s be honest. It’s easy to scream at problems everyone sees and make a name for yourself. It’s not easy to live a life fully surrendered to a Savior who gave His life for your redemption. The former only must be loud in the moment to be heard.  The latter must be submitted every second of the day for a lifetime.  

If we want to change our world, we must do so through our faith consistently demonstrated. We need to worry less about our wisdom or abilities and more about the power of God. We must continue to speak of Jesus and Him crucified and the amazing ways the gospel has radically transformed our lives. We must be like Paul who was eager and willing to risk all to share the power of God he had personally experienced so that others would trust, believe, and follow Jesus and thereby be transformed!

Do you believe God’s power is sufficient for the hurts and needs of your life? Are you sharing what God has done in you and for you with others so they may see the power of God at work? Are you living a life dependent upon your wisdom and cunning, or trusting in the power of God?

The truth is, we are all inadequate to do the God-sized things we are all called to do. I know I am. But I have a God who is more than able, more than capable of taking my inadequacies (and yours) and turning them into trophies of His power and wisdom.  As we submit to Him and follow Him, we will be blessed beyond measure, and God’s power will be on display for all the world to see and believe.