Suffering

 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
John 9:2 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.9.2.ESV

There's a cruel logic to the disciples' question. We assume that bad things happen to bad people. We like to think that good things happen to good people.

So when the disciples see the man born blind, they assume some sin is involved. Despite any actual evidence of wrongdoing, they assume something must have been amiss in the man or his parents' past. Jesus goes to to blow their theory out of the water.

Jesus explained that neither the man nor his parents sinned to cause his blindness. Instead, this had happened to display the glory of God. And Jesus went on to glorify His Father God by making the blind man see.

We need to learn from this that just because something bad happens to someone, doesn't mean to say they're bad. The whole book of Job illustrates this too. We should always been looking to how God can be glorified, even in the midst of suffering.

'God, forgive us for sometimes assuming bad of people who suffer. May we consider how we can glorify You by seeking to alleviate suffering, for the honour of Your name, amen'

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