Put Yourself Under God’s Command

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from John 9:16, ” Therefore some of the Pharisees said, ‘This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’ And there was a division among them. “

Background

The shell game has been around for centuries. Paintings exist from as far back as the Middle Ages of hucksters trying to use their sleight of hand to pull one over on some unsuspecting observer. Today, contestants can try and follow the hidden item on giant video screens in arenas or at ballgames in the hopes of winning some free prize. The intent in this case is that the sponsor giving away the gift can generate some additional business through the honest awarding of the piece of merchandise. But the shell game, as it was intended, is a swindle intent on relieving the participants of their money. And if the opposite seems true, if winners appear to be getting the upper hand on the swindler, correctly guessing under which shell the pea is hiding, then you can rest assured that shills have been planted in the audience, and their winning is just a part of the ruse to encourage others to cough up their cash. For as closely as one may watch the shifty hands of the trickster, and as certain as they might be of where the pea sits, the usual outcome is for the player to stand amazed and frustrated over their loss in what looked like a certain success. Now, was it a mistake in guessing, or did the manipulator of the shells work his form of trickery to their unfortunate undoing?

Application

For all practical purposes, a man born blind could be healed of his blindness only once. And if he is made to see, would there be irrefutable evidence that he was truly blind to begin with? And if he was blind, was it from heaven or hell that came his new sight? The world, those who are spiritually blind, are right in questioning the good we ascribe to God. They either cannot confirm the legitimacy of the change of state, being slightly more than a little suspicious of a con, or they discredit the source of the so-called divine intervention. That reluctance, as they say, is human nature. Our role is to be as inhuman as possible, living by complete faith and recognizing in Him complete and total authority. In this ” game, ” there will be nothing to hide.

Charge

As we seek Him today, put all that you have on the table, and let God’s hand manipulate things as He sees fit.