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After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this world means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. John 9v6
In the city where we used to live, silence was a rare thing. Even when you might be fooled into thinking that there was quiet, there was a background symphony of noise – a/c units whirring, dogs barking, car horns beeping.
One morning I had got up early to have a quiet time and sat at my desk with the window open, marvelling at the fact that the main sound that I could hear was bird song. And then a donkey cart walked by, the reigns chinking gently as he walked along. And I was struck by how amazing this was. Living in one of the biggest mega-cities in the world, I was surrounded by huge apartment blocks and streets lined with cars, and a donkey walked past my window – a simple, humble example of nature.
We are easily duped into not using our eyes properly. We forget to open them and see natural pointers to God that are all around us. Sometimes we are so clouded by the mess of humanity that we forget to use our God-given eyes that are tuned to beauty. Sometimes I think we leave the mud on our eyes, we fail to see beyond the challenging situations around us. We need to be sent to the Pool of Silonam, to wash the mud away and use our eyes to see His glory.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is a one-off event, that once the mud has been washed away, we will forever see clearly. Our fallen nature causes us to be blinded again and again. Almost daily, we need to wrestle with this – to see things through God’s eyes and not our own.
God, forgive me for being so clouded by the mess that us humans make of this world that I forget to open my eyes to you. Open them now that I might see your touch, your hand and your beauty in the things that surround me. Amen
Written by a member of our community serving in the Arab World
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