The Seeing Blind Woman

It all started with one pastor who wanted to evangelize. The Lord put a certain village on his heart, so he went there to plant a new church. 

In that village lived a woman who believed in Jesus. But she was the only one and she felt very alone, so she asked God for other people to pray and worship with. 

And so the church began in that village with just two people - a prayerful sister and a pastor who wanted to plant a new church. Once they started growing in number, the village leaders took notice and held a series of meetings to determine whether this new (and frankly foreign) church could continue to meet. 

Although most of the village leaders were opposed to the existence of the church, one person convinced the rest by reminding them that no harm had come to the village thus far because of them. It also helped that the chief’s own son had been attending regularly. In his words, he was attending not because he was interested in faith, but rather because he wanted to “protect the church” so that it would continue, and he knew that his attendance could sway the opinions of his father and his counselors. If you ask me, I not only see God using the chief’s son to give favor to the church in the eyes of the chief, but I also see God drawing the heart of the chief’s son himself. 

When we arrived to this new church, planted only a few months ago, we found a gathering of at least thirty men, women, and children. Even the chief and his son showed up. 

My attention was drawn to an elderly blind woman, who was led over by the hand to where we were sitting. The hand that led her also guided her hand to shake each one of ours. With a deeply wrinkled smile that exploded with joy, she proclaimed, “I may not be able to see, but I believe.” 

I wish I had thought of it in that very moment because I would have said it to her, but it wasn’t until later that evening when I remembered her face and pondered her faith that the words came to me:

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.”

Though not seeing, she has seen the greatest miracle of all - the miracle of faith in Jesus that brings salvation and eternal life.