Reed Mueller

Ever had to reconsider the wisdom of a common saying? I had to when I read John 9:6-11, an account of one of Jesus’ miraculous healings, recently:

6…Jesus spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”

“Seeing is believing” is an old saying that I’ve never really questioned. Yet, after reading this account I reconsidered it and came to the conclusion that in certain cases it’s 180 degrees wrong. According to John, this blind man found sight because he believed Jesus, trusting him enough to do something that must have seemed quite silly, before he could physically see him. And what happened when he trusted Jesus’ lead? He found that he could see… and see Jesus no less! In his case, believing preceded seeing.

Sometimes seeing, and more spectacularly seeing Christ, requires of us to grope toward the place he calls us. We may not understand – and certainly this man did not – yet, if we move after truly hearing the call of Christ, then our eyes are opened even if ever so slightly at first. So maybe when it comes to ultimate matters, matters of faith, a more appropriate saying would be this: “Believing is seeing!” That is, taking a step of faith leads us to see God in a new and deeper way; he reveals himself to us as we trust him.

Want to see him in your life? Then follow his lead by responding to his word and his still small voice… and just see what happens… for believing leads to seeing.