A Gritty Anointing, Part 2

Jan. 15

Read: John 9:1-41

A Gritty Anointing, Part 2

“Having said these things, (Jesus) spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.” (v.6,7)

The manner in which Jesus performs a miracle is just as important as the miracle itself. Yesterday we began to see this played out in the account of the man blind from birth. Again, the questions to consider are : why Jesus slapped mud on this man’s face? Can you imagine it? How much spit does it take to make mud, and then scoop it up, and finally “anoint” the man’s eyes? Of all the ways that Jesus could heal, why this? (If you have not read yesterday’s devo, go back and check it out! ) My friend Danny Wike and I had a chance to consider this passage and here are some more of the things the Lord showed us:

3.) Even in the midst of the miraculous, there is still a journey to be made with Christ. This miracle of Christ was not instantaneous. Can you picture this man walking to the pool of Siloam to wash his eyes off? (see v.7) His eyes were caked with mud… my friend Danny mentioned how “gritty” that must feel! This is when we laughed and I called it a “gritty anointing”. Sometimes God gives us a “gritty anointing” … and unexpected journey into the miraculous work that he is doing. This blind man had to literally walk “by faith” in Christ and his instructions… not by site. I wonder if someone led him to the pool? How did he make his way there? Was he grouping along the ground? Crawling towards the sound of the water? I bet those final blind-steps before the sensation of the cool water washing away the mud and his blindness were amazing. The “gritty anointing” is the sort of journey into God’s miraculous work in our lives that still involves us walking by faith not by site for those final steps that precede the breakthrough and restoration. It takes “grit” to walk those steps with “mud-covered eyes”… walking by “faith not by site”! (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7)

4.) When Jesus “mixes with” or “infuses himself” with this broken material world, the outcome is healing / restoration / joy and hope. We see this in the mud itself. Notice how Jesus “spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva.” (v.6) I mean, Jesus could have used some water… but he didn’t. Have you ever thought how unique it was that he used his own spit?! It is such an intimate thing… spit. Jesus spit on the dust of the ground. This ought to remind us of when Adam was created from the dust of the ground. (cf. Gen. 2:7) This mud represented a mixing together of Christ and this earth… this dust… the very stuff that God made humans from in the beginning. When Jesus gets “mixed in” to the things of this world - they become a “gritty” remedy for the brokenness of this world. That silva and dust worked together - Jesus and dirt… the divine and the human - become the very mud that becomes a part of God’s miracle. Jesus is not afraid to “get his hands dirty” so to speak… to be mixed in with the dust of this world to be used by the Father for restoration, healing, and hope! That is the “gritty anointing”. In a way, Jesus’ incarnation is the “grittiest anointing” of all!

May we experience the touch of Christ where we desperately need it the most. Jesus does not keep his distance… he doesn’t speak to us from far away… he draws near and touches us on our proverbial “blind eyes”. May we hear the voice of Christ when he says that we are a part of God’s plan and that we need not suffer under guilt… wondering if he is holding something against us because of our sin or the sin of our parents. May we learn to trust that some of our suffering - our “blindness” - may actually be part of a bigger plan to set us up to receive the miraculous work of God and to bring glory to the Father through it. May we know that our journeys with Christ will often times involve walking by faith not by site… maybe even with “mud” on our eyes. Sometimes what would seem sort of “gross” (mud made from Jesus spit) may actually be the “gritty” mixing together of the work of Jesus and this world. Jesus knows the “dust” that we are made of and when he comes in contact with it (“mixes it up”) we become something NEW… something that is used as a part of something bigger for the glory of God. Lord, give us hearts ready to receive your “gritty anointing”, feet that are ready o walk by faith, and courage to believe that you have indeed transformed us into something new. What an amazing story! Love you guys. - JDP