Now Jesus stands ready to do the same with us. To heal us, and then to use us.

He knows your pain and is ready to help. He will meet you where you are, touch your hurt, and tell you what to do next. He will heal you on earth or in heaven. He will remove the pain or give you strength to endure it (perhaps an even greater miracle).

But you must be humbled and obedient enough to receive what he wants to give. If the man had chosen to heal himself, he could never have been healed by Jesus. A doctor can only help a patient who is willing to do what the doctor says. The self-sufficiency and consumerism of our culture are the worst enemies to the power of God in our lives. You can mark it down: the Lord will not do for us what we try to do for ourselves.

The only plight worse than being blind is being blind and not admitting it. Pretending we're just fine. Running into walls and denying that we did. Pretending we're fine when we're not. Keeping up appearances at all costs.

The Bible is often misquoted to say "Pride goeth before a fall." In fact, God's word warns, "Pride goeth before destruction" (Proverbs 16:18). We are all blind unless our eyes have been healed by Jesus. We are all broken people unless we have been helped by him.

The first beatitude says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Mathew 5:3); a better translation is, "Blessed are those who know how much they need God." Are you that "blessed?" When last did you admit your brokenness to the Father, your blindness to his Son, your need to his Spirit? What pain should you trust to him this morning?

He will heal and help us, and he will use us, for God never wastes a hurt.

If Jesus has saved your soul, he wants to use you to save other souls. If he has comforted your grief, he wants you to comfort others in mourning. If he has strengthened you in trials, he wants you to strengthen others.

The One who called himself the "light of the world" also taught his disciples, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). We are to reflect his light as the moon reflects the sun. And so our mirror must be clean, and pointed at its Source.

We are instructed to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (v. 16). We are wounded and need healing, or we are wounded healers—there's no third option.

Thursday morning, Janet and I drove Ryan to Baylor University, then drove home. But "home" will never be quite the same again. His bedroom is cleaner than it has been for 18 years. Our food budget will be lowered significantly. And things will never be quite the same again.

The 18 years of his life have been the best 18 years of my life. Every morning for 18 years I have prayed for God to bless and protect our son; I've never missed a day. But I know he belonged to his heavenly Father before he was given to his earthly father and mother. We now must trust his future into his first Father's hands. We must trust that the God we cannot see is the God who can see us, and him. The God who will walk at his side for the rest of his life. We must trust our son to his Son.

So many of you have helped us. You've walked this path and have called or written to help us walk it. Your encouragement has been a gift to our hearts, more than you may know.

It's that way for us all of life. Each of us is either blind needing help to see, or sighted needing to help the blind. Which are you today?