Do you have your baptism certificate? Lent Series, A Short Contemplation on the Born Blind Man.
After our baptism, we get a certificate as a record for this
beautiful and important day of our lives in which we joined the body of Christ.
Sometimes, we need this baptism certificate as a document for marriage, service
in a different or distant parish and just as a simple proof of our belonging to
the Coptic Orthodox Church. The man in the Gospel of John Chapter 9 shows us a
very distinctive baptism certificate.
Christ healed this born blind person by making clay, setting it on his eyes and asking him to go and
Second, he carried the cross of persecution as his Master
and followed Him. This born blind man was threatened, reviled, put down,
treated with sarcasm, and finally was cast out. He was threatened using his parents,
and certainly, they felt the pressure of the Pharisees. They crucified his
Master outside the walls of Jerusalem and cast Him out of their hearts,
synagogue, and town. He was reviled, and for this mistreatment, he made no
mistakes but stood firm on his ground. He brought reason to the conversation
“We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of
God and does his will, God listens to him. “(9:31) and he brought definite
evidence of his faith “I was blind and now I see”. But the denial of the
Pharisees is no different from the rejection of those discredit miracles in our
days. He heard the voice “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” (Mat 5:11). Reading
this miracle from the Scriptures would give the impression that both the born
blind man and the Lord met outside, for they were both rejected.
Third, he proclaimed with his voice his faith in the Lord,
and he worshiped Him. Meeting the Man who healed him was a conclusion to his
faith in Christ. For the born blind fellow, meeting his Healer, face to face
was the destiny, not the whole story. He had already worshiped the Lord in his
heart and had set Him on the throne of his life. However, it’s important that
he uttered these words, “Lord, I believe”. It’s as important for him to bow
down and worship Him.
Don’t you now agree that God was glorified in him?!
Going back to the baptism certificate, this man showed us,
by his actions, his christening license, one that’s authentic and true, sealed
by the Spirit and signed by the Lord himself. In these three ways, this person
revealed his identity as a believer, what about us? Let’s bring our witness to
our neighbors, let’s tell them our story, and speak to them about our Savior
and redeemer. And it's for them to receive it or defy it. As Christians, we
should carry our crosses meeting our Lord outside, where all the cross bearers
are, those who are mocked and rejected by society. As believers, we should
worship our Lord in joy and thanksgiving. The physical baptism certificate is
important, but these three are a living dedication document.
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