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Pride...our Prison Guard

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." (John 9:35-39 NIV)
I happen to be reading John Chapter 9 when I came across the above verse of scripture. As with all scripture, it’s accuracy captures the essence of the world in which we live, and as such is a perfect indictment of our fallen society and world. The blind man in the story (and by the way it is a true story) is representative of so few in our world: people who truly want to believe. When Jesus asked the man if he believed in the Son of Man, he didn’t know who that was, but his heart did not dismiss the possibility of believing in something that was obviously greater than himself. When presented with Jesus’ reality, the man believed instantly.

In our world, people are oftentimes not humble enough to want to worship God. When Jesus is presented to most of us, we are unwilling to put aside our “lifestyles” to follow Him. That is why humility in a person is such an endearing quality. It was the man’s humility that allowed him to so readily accept Christ. When I was unsaved, every time that the topic of Jesus or God was presented to me (though in retrospect it was not very often), I was unwilling to subvert myself to accept something that instinctively I knew was greater than myself. For example, I wouldn’t respond to the alter call in church or the opportunity to pursue a religious conversation offered by an acquaintance. I knew I would have to change. I didn’t want to change…although I knew perfectly well that my life was nothing so great to hold on to.

When I finally accepted the sovereignty of Jesus Christ as Lord over myself, it was an act of submission. Thankfully for me I resisted my pride (which was screaming for me to stop) and willingly said in my own way “Lord, I believe” and I have been worshipping Jesus ever since.

I pray for everyone who may be reading this post, and who may be seeing themselves somewhere in this story. I pray that they accept God’s continued offering of Himself to them through His Son Jesus Christ. Overcome your prison guard of pride - it only wants to keep you trapped: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV)
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