John 9:1-3 (NIV)
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His
disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was
born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this
happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
We are all familiar with the story of the man born blind,
how Jesus cures him, and the man begins a voyage of faith. But what if a person
were to lose his sight in a tragic way? How would God manifest His works
through such a person?
In 1972, during one of the worst years of the Troubles in
Northern Ireland, a ten-year-old boy, Richard Moore, was walking home from
school with his friends in Derry City. From inside his secure military hut, a
British soldier fired a rubber bullet at this group of children at the bottom
of a playground. It hit Richard on the bridge of the nose at ten feet, blinding
him instantly and sending him to the hospital and onto a far greater journey.
He could have become a poster boy for those who would
advocate violence as the means to solve the Troubles of Northern Ireland.
Instead, by the grace of God, he learned to forgive the man who maimed him and
he walked away from darkness into the light of God.
Richard founded a
charity called "Children in Crossfire" in 1996 to help children in
Tanzania and Ethiopia who are caught in the crossfire of poverty and injustice.
In Richard's weakness, God's strength has come through.
He tells his incredible journey in the book, "Can I
Give Him My Eyes?"
He also talks about his own country and what is the path
to peace.
"I have come to realize that it does not matter if
you are Protestant or Catholic, Unionist or Nationalist, British or Irish, the
suffering is the same. And if we are to build a true and lasting peace in
Northern Ireland, then one of the challenges will be to deal with the hurts of
the past and try to ensure that they are not handed on to the next generation.
"
What great words for us today, as there is always someone
out there we need to forgive, in order to sow the seeds of peace and to make
sure that the evils of today are not passed on to our children and our
grandchildren.
Dear Lord, help us even in tragedy look for how You can
use it for good. Help us have a forgiving heart today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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