The Heretic's Way

Holy Spit

Imagine being born blind. Never being able to see the light of day. Never being able to appreciate the beautiful colors of a sunset. Darkness is all you see.

Not being able to work you choose to subject your life to the mercy of the passerby. You hold out your cup and beg. From time to time some generous soul tosses a coin into you cup.

Often you hear that sound. Your ears are one sense you can rely on. That sound. Someone getting ready to spit. You try to move away but without being able to see you move the wrong direction and you feel it. The wetness of some jerk’s saliva dripping down your face…

How can people be so rude and insensitive? You’re just trying to get a few coins so you can go to bed with a full stomach. But they have to add insult to injury by spitting on you.

Time and time again. That sound.

One day as you sit and beg a man comes by. You hear a crowd. They say he is a healer. He stops and looks at you and you hear them debating why you are blind. Who cares why? What is the point of debating the cause of someone else’s misfortune?

This man, the Healer, says that you are blind so God can be glorified. Well, that’s a new one! You’ve heard people say it was because your parents sinned. You’ve heard that it was because you’ve sinned. But never once has someone claimed that it was so God’s power could be displayed. That doesn’t even make sense!

Then…that dreaded noise.

Here it comes again. Do you even bother trying to dodge it?

Fortunately it was a miss. This spitter must not have good aim. After a few moments you feel warm hands smudging mud on your eyes. The ground is dry and you shutter to think where this mud came from.

The nerve of this guy!! It’s not enough for him to simply spit on you? Now he mixes it with dirt and smears it across your face?

You hear a few chuckles ripple through the gathered crowd as your anger begins to rise. This man then speaks and everyone falls silent. “Go wash your face in the Pool of Siloam.”

Is this some kind of cruel joke? Is that it? Why can’t he just give you a towel?

I don’t know how you would have felt but I would have been pretty irritated.

You stumble your way through crammed alleyways and over obstacles. You wonder why are listening to this crazy man in the first place. But what do you have to lose?

At last you make your way to the small pool. You dip some water out and begin to rinse the now crusty dirt and spit mixture from your eyes.

You can’t wait for this day to be over.

As the mud rinses from your eyes sparks of color and light begin to penetrate your once useless eyes. The brightness is so bright that it is almost painful.

You stagger away from the pool as a flood of emotions overwhelm you. You remember the pool…the mud…the spit. The Man.

You begin to run, you’ve never had the luxury of running before. You jump, dodge and leap over obstacles that would have once caused endless frustration. You are looking for that Man.

As you run the irony fills your thoughts. That spit…the thing that was once the most disgraceful and utterly disgusting gesture has now become your healing salve. What used to cause you pain and embarrassment was just used to transform you.

Now it all makes sense. Your blindness did show God’s power. Your past has now been transformed into His present. God used the very thing that you found gross and dispicable…the thing that repulsed you.

He used it and brought healing.

What holy spit has God been using in your life? Is there some painful, embarrassing, ugly or disgusting thing that is being used to bring God glory in you?

Related posts:

Holy Hijack