| Man Born Blind |
| Elam was a blind man. He had been blind all his life. Some people would be mad because they were blind. Elam was not. Elam said he could "see" things through his hands. He knew vegetables were crispy, so he decided green was a crispy color. He knew the sun was warm, so he decided yellow was a warm color. He also felt the shape of things. So he didn't need to see. He had a friend who didn't believe in God because he couldn't see God. Elam told his friend that was silly. He could see the world around him and know someone at some time made it. He knew wind existed, even though no one can see wind. And he knew his friend existed, even though he couldn't see his friend. Since Elam could not earn money for himself, he sat at the gate of the Temple and asked people to share some of their money. They felt sorry for him, so they helped him. Elam knew a lot that was going on inside the Temple. Jesus had a loud voice, and when he preached to people in the courtyard, Elam could hear too. Elam also knew that the Temple leaders did not like Jesus because he was more popular than them. They finally decided that, if anyone followed Jesus, they could no longer be a Jew and go inside the Temple. One day Jesus came to the Temple and stopped to talk to Elam. He told Elam that he had lived his whole life blind so he could find out just how powerful God was. Then Jesus healed the man. Elam could see! He was so excited. He ran home and told his neighbors and parents and everyone. When the Temple leaders found out, they called Elam to a meeting. Elam would not change what he was telling people. He kept saying Jesus performed the miracle. So they called in Elam's parents to try to get them to say Elam had not really been born blind. But they knew he had been. His parents were afraid the Temple leaders would not let them be Jews and go to the Temple any more, so they wouldn't answer any more questions about their son. So they called Elam back, and he continued to say it was Jesus who performed the miracle so he could see. The Temple leaders said he could no longer be a Jew and worship in the Temple. Elam didn't care. He had found Jesus. Most people will be your friend if you love Jesus. But some will not. If you want Jesus to stay being your friend, you must be a friend to Jesus. |