The cost of following Jesus
Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue. John 9:30-34
From the text, not everybody was joyful when the Lord Jesus Christ healed a blind man. The religious authorities summoned him to appear before them in the synagogue. When he was brought before them, he told them that he knew little about Jesus. “He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied” (John 9:11-12). People of Jewish faith in the time of our Lord and Savior had their lives revolved around the synagogue. So when something happened that could not be verified by the religious leaders of that time and were not in what the religious tradition prescribed, it will be dubious and should be doubted. The former blind man knew he was in great trouble. Though he was healed, the fact that it was done by a person whom they do not believe, the miracle was not something to marvel about. Yet, he spoke proudly about what Jesus had done. He even accused the religious leaders that they should have known better that the miracle was done by someone that only comes from God. Anyone who claims to follow Jesus should be ready to face persecution. There is a cost to pay when we follow Him. You may lose friends and even your family. This can happen when you choose to follow Jesus when asked by people around you to forsake your faith in Him. Though it will cost you to follow Jesus but the alternative is costlier. No matter what the cost will be for you to follow Him it will always be worth it. You cannot stay neutral with your relationship with God. Either you stand up for your faith in Him and cause friction to the people around you. Or you prefer to be in harmony with the people around you and be in enmity with God. It will be up to you to make a choice, but God would prefer that you choose Him over others. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).
