Dakota Beerman

While reading the book of John a lesson emerges.

When Jesus speaks we see plenty of responses, but one common response from those who dismiss him as a liar is an attack back. The pharisee doesn’t respond humbly but with an attack. You may experience this when you bring a correction to someone and instead saying something like “Help me understand that” they say something like “Well you….”.

Jesus heals a blind man in John 9 and it leads to the blind man believing in Jesus as the son of God. Jesus explains cleverly that he came to help people SEE. By that he means see truth, see him as he is, to see God in human form. The pharisee’s say, “Does that make us blind?” They don’t try to understand the strange man who challenges them, they attack him.

Why do people attack the person saying provoking things? It’s scary, it’s humbling, it’s hurtful, it’s not nice.

As a christian it’s a challenge to see Jesus as he is, God. That’s challenging.

As a human in the world it’s a representation of human nature. When someone feels attacked, they may attack back. It doesn’t mean you did something wrong, it may mean you did something helpful and it’s hard for that person to receive. A wise person learns to receive these types of messages, understand them, and come to more accurate, truthful understanding of reality.

If you’re the speaker, be bold. If you’re the listener be wise.