Kris Belcher - Facing the Son

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Belcher, Kristin Warner, author.

Facing the Son : eliminating the spiritual light blockers in your life / Kristin Warner Belcher.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60908-066-2 (paperbound)

1. Christian lifeMormon authors. I. Title.

BX8656.B45 2011

248.4'893dc23 2011016866

Printed in the United States of America R. R. Donnelley, Crawfordsville, IN

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my sweet husband, James,

who has the best vision of any man Ive ever met.

Introduction

The light of dawn signaled the morning of the Sabbath, but the glow of the sun meant nothing to him. From his seat at the side of the dusty road, the beggar felt the suns heat warming his back and just a hint of breeze touching his upturned face. For many years, he had sat in darkness, each day coming to this same spot of ground. Here he begged from the many passersby for his subsistence. His eyes saw nothing, but his ears followed the sounds of movement near himsounds of animals and their masters, mothers calling after their children, and the shuffling of feet as people walked by.

He listened as a group of men approached. They stopped and spoke together about his blindness. He marveled at the words of one whom the others called Jesus, when they asked, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

In anticipation, the blind man leaned forward to catch the reply.

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him (John 9:23).

He couldnt believe it. Never before had the blind man heard someone teach such a thing, but the words rang true in his heart. He had not deserved this physical problem; he knew it. He had always known it. Yet now this man preached what he had felt from his childhood.

This Jesus, who called himself the light of the world (John 9:5), spoke kindly to the beggar as He stooped before him. The beggar heard the stranger spit in the dirt, and then he felt warm, wet clay cover his blind eyes. He drew back, not understanding but somehow not fearing this new stranger. He heard a crowd begin to gather as Jesus helped him to his feet and quietly gave him instructions to go, wash in the pool of Siloam (John 9:7).

The beggar, now urged forward by some new feeling inside, was assisted to the pool. A glimmer of hope pricked his heart, but still, he was uncertain what would happen as he entered the water.

The blind man did as he was commanded and washed off the clay. Instantly, the light of the sun met his eyes and filled his mind. Never before had he ever imagined such brightness. Familiar objects and people appeared foreign with their vivid colors and strange dimensions, yet these new sights brought him unbelievable joy. Tears of amazement and gratitude spilled down his cheeks. It was a miracle. His eyes had been opened.

I have always loved reading the New Testament story of how Christ healed the blind man. I have imagined what that day would have been like, what the man may have been feeling, and the compassion that must have shown on the face of Jesus. Having struggled with very limited eyesight throughout my life and finally gone completely blind in 2003, I have longed to receive such a healing.

As a college student at Brigham Young University, when I still possessed some vision in one eye, I was present in a religion class where we were told that the prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson, was in the building next door. After class, if we waited outside, in an hour, we might catch a glimpse of him. When class ended, I was amazed to see that no one besides me had remained to see the prophet.

I sat in the sunjust waiting. It occurred to me that if I was the only one around when President Benson exited the building, perhaps I could not only see him but speak with him as well. I had read and heard of many modern-day miracles that had been done by the hands of apostles and prophets in our day. Was it possible that I could receive a miracle and, through the power of the priesthood held by this prophet, be healed? Would President Benson take time to give me a blessing? Would Father in Heaven cause my sight to be improved or even fully restored?

Now, perhaps this sounds a bit Pollyannaish, or even foolish, but I knew that God worked through His prophets and that such a healing, according to the will of the Lord and my faith, was absolutely possible.

Finally, when the doors to the building were opened, students seemed to come out of nowhere, clustering to see the prophet. I was pushed to the rear of the crowd, and I watched President Benson shake the hands of those in the front row. My heart was saddened as I saw my chance to speak with the prophet, and possibly be healed by him, pass me by.

However, as I joined the group in celebrating President Bensons birthday by singing to him, the Spirit comforted me and taught me an unforgettable lesson.

It was not the will of the Father that I should be healed of my sight impairment. Understanding entered my mind, as it so often had before, through the words of a scripture. I thought and felt the power of Christs teaching to His disciples on that day when He healed the blind man so long ago, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him (John 9:3).

Instead of receiving complete healing, it was my mission to keep my sight impairment. I learned through the Spirit that as I struggled with my disability, others would see the help given me by the hand of the Lord, and this would help them seek Christ in their own lives. This was not the answer I had hoped for and wanted, but I gathered my courage and received strength to move forward.

Since that time, the passage in John 9 has given me purpose amidst my struggles. Yet that is not all. As I have studied this chapter in more depth, I have come to realize that the healing of the beggar was not the primary focus of the passage. The man who was blind served as a living lesson for a deeper truththe need to overcome spiritual blindness in order to truly see what is important.

After the beggar was healed, he was taken before the Pharisees and questioned. Because Christ had healed this man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees charged Him with breaking the law of Moses and condemned him of being of the devil. They totally missed the miracle and the power of the miracle worker. The Pharisees were blind to all but their own interpretation of the law. They could see with their physical eyes, yet they were blindblind to what mattered most: Jesus Christ.

It seems so easy for me to diagnose the vision problem of the Pharisees. Why couldnt they, why didnt they recognize or focus on the Savior? Why did they see only the law and not the giver of it? Yet, I wonder how many times I do the same thing. How often do I allow other things, even personal feelings, to take my focus away from spiritual matters and ultimately from my Savior? Spiritually speaking, what is my visual acuity? Do I suffer from a spiritual blindness similar to that of the Pharisees?