Sight to the Blind

 

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And he disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with mud and sad to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.”

John 9:1-7

Jesus’ purpose on earth was to turn people toward the kingdom of heaven; that his Father might be glorified. He gave sight to the blind, he healed the lame, he cast out demons, he raised the dead, he turned water into wine, he fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, he walked on water, he calmed the storms, and he did so much more. All of these miracles were performed so that people may see the power that God possessed and believe in him. Everything that Jesus did, modeled the gift of salvation…the people being shown love and grace from God did nothing to deserve it, yet once they received it they gave glory to God receiving the free gift of salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Last year, I came with a team from Virginia to Zambia and we brought a unique ministry with us...eyeglasses. We were trained as eye doctors having permission to practice anywhere outside the states. We learned that in the rural areas of countries, the locals rarely have access to eye care, much less money to pay for it. God gave us the idea to bring eyeglasses and medication with us and set up mobile clinics throughout various areas in the bush. We had two teams alternating days running the eye clinic. We had doctors prescribing the glasses or antibiotics, opticians handing out and fitting the eyeglasses, and counselors. Each person that we saw went through all three stages of the clinic and at the end was counseled in the gospel. We paralleled the free gift of glasses or medication with the free gift of salvation that God says is for anyone to choose if they believe in his son. We gave them glasses to show our love for them that only comes from God’s love for us. Most of the people out here have heard “the gospel” but don’t understand it, so the main purpose of our counselors was to answer questions and challenge the locals that if they claim to be Christians, their lives should bear fruit and bring glory to God and he should be enough for them regardless of what valley they are in or mountain they are on top of.

The reason I am giving all this background information is because I was blessed to have met with the chief of our area, Chief Nawya, and prescribe him and his wives eyeglasses. There have been disputes over what land was given to Mission of Love for the community project of the orphanage, so Jako had to go meet with the chief and settle matters. While they were meeting, Jako noticed that the chief had trouble reading, rightfully so being 76, and offered to bring a doctor to look at his eyes and prescribe him reading glasses. A week later, we show up with our mobile clinic. Thankfully, the team left all the extra eyeglasses, test kits, and refractors needed to run the clinic, so I was able to dig everything out and set up a small version of the clinic at the chief’s palace. I was the doctor and Jako acted as the optician. We successfully prescribed glasses to the chief, his three wives, a senior headman, and a dear friend of the chief’s. After we finished and closed the clinic, Jako, the chief, and I had time to discuss biblical matters. We were encouraged by the chief’s words about honoring God in his handling of the land and the decisions he makes regarding the people under his authority and care. We looked at scripture together and prayed for him and his family. It was a very unique experience to have had, but I am glad that God opened the doors for us to bless him in that way. It is a huge blessing to have gone for years without clear sight and one day is able to see more clearly than one thought was possible. We continue to pray for the Chief and all the matters he must deal with on a daily basis, that he seeks wisdom from God and no one else. He has a lot of say in what happens with the land, the school and anything else we hope to get established for the community here, so we are thankful that he desires knowledge from God and wants to allow God to work through those in the community to help the orphans and the widows.