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The Intentions of Providence
- 04/27/09
- 21
“As [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’ (John 9:1-3).” And, of course, Jesus spits on the ground, creates mud, has the man wash away the mud and performs a miracle so that this man, blind from birth, finally sees. I love this little story—just a very brief episode in the life of Jesus and one that could so easily pass us by. The disciples asked a simple but misguided question; Jesus mercifully answered with wisdom that has comforted so many of his people.
Two years ago the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada recommended that all expectant mothers undergo screening for fetal abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome. This was a break from common practice in which only women who are thirty-five and older receive such screening.
Dr. Andre Lalonde, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Ottawa and the executive vice president of the SOGC, said the society decided to issue the recommendation so that a greater number of women would have the option to terminate their pregnancies should fetal abnormalities be detected.
“Yes, it’s going to lead to more termination, but it’s going to be fair to these women who are 24 who say, ‘How come I have to raise an infant with Down’s syndrome, whereas my cousin who was 35 didn’t have to?’” Dr. Lalonde said. “We have to be fair to give women a choice.”
“How come I have to raise an infant with Down’s syndrome…?” Amazing words, those, and shockingly selfish. They are ones that perhaps any parent may wonder at his or her worst moments, but ones that we would hope not to hear as justification for a matter so serious, so devastating, as abortion. But even this is an old-school argument when it comes to abortion. In recent years the issue of abortion has evolved from “Is this what you want?” (a matter of personal inconvenience) to “Is this what you want for your family?” (a matter of wider inconvenience) to “How can you do this to us?” (a matter of societal inconvenience). Those who learn that their child may be born with Down’s syndrome or another condition will feel pressure to abort this child for the good of society. They will be told, even if only tacitly, that to bring a disabled child into the world is unfair to everyone in society. It is, after all, my tax dollars that will need to support this child through special education and special vocation, and my children whose tax dollars will pay for his retirement.
Not many parents today would wrestle with the issue of who sinned that a child was born blind (or with weak eyes—a condition deemed sufficient by some to abort a child in the United Kingdom) or with Down’s Syndrome. Neither would they wrestle with whether this child should even be born. Blindness would be sufficient cause for many parents, and perhaps even most parents, to abort the child and try again, hoping for a better result the next time. And yet this particular blind man, the one Jesus met, was to serve a purpose that had been sovereignly ordained since before the dawn of time.
F.F. Bruce makes an important point about this story: “This does not mean that God deliberately caused the child to be born blind in order that, after many years, his glory should be displayed in the removal of the blindness; to think so would again be an aspersion on the character of God. It does mean that God overruled the disaster of the child’s blindness so that, when the child grew to manhood, he might, by recovering his sight, see the glory of God in the face of Christ, and others, seeing this work of God, might turn to the true Light of the World.” John MacArthur summarizes “God sovereignly chose to use this man’s affliction for His own glory.”
I love Matthew Henry’s treatment of this passage. He draws out two applications for the fact that this man was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. The first is that “the attributes of God might be made manifest in him.” Among the attributes of God seen in the life of this man are God’s justice in making sinful man liable to such grievous calamities and His ordinary power and goodness in supporting a poor man under such a grievous and tedious affliction. God’s goodness was specially and miraculously manifested in curing him. The second application is “that the counsels of God concerning the Redeemer might be manifested in him. He was born blind that our Lord Jesus might have the honour of curing him, and might therein prove himself sent of God to be the true light to the world. Thus the fall of man was permitted, and the blindness that followed it, that the works of God might be manifest in opening the eyes of the blind. It was now a great while since this man was born blind, and yet it never appeared till now why he was so.” This man had been born blind so that the power of God might be displayed in him.
Henry draws a final application: “the intentions of Providence commonly do not appear till a great while after the event, perhaps many years after. The sentences in the book of providence are sometimes long, and you must read a great way before you can apprehend the sense of them.” Those who abort their children do not read to the end of those long sentences. Rather, thinking selfishly and looking only a few words ahead, they make the terrible decision to end a life, destroying the gift of God. Henry also writes “Those who regard [God] not in the ordinary course of things are sometimes alarmed by things extraordinary. How contentedly then may a good man be a loser in his comforts, while he is sure that thereby God will be one way or other a gainer in his glory!” (You may, as I did, have to read that last sentence a few times to gain the sense of it.) Those who choose abortion are unwilling to lose their comforts that God may gain His glory. This glory may not be miraculous as it was in the case of the man born blind, but God is glorified in every life that enters this world. Every one of us testifies to the Creator’s wisdom, power, love and goodness. Countless millions have been destroyed and tossed away and we have never been able to rejoice in the gift of life God gave them. We have not been able to marvel in the attributes of God displayed so clearly in their lives.
When we abort those who are infirm, physically or mentally, when we choose not to read those long sentences in the book of providence, we destroy boys and girls, men and women, in whom we ought to see the works of God displayed. We miss out on marvelous opportunities to see the works of God displayed in their lives. We miss opportunities to see God’s glory increase, even if this involves a requisite decrease in our own comfort. This ought to be a small price to pay.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (21)
Does Bruce give a justification for his position?
As the father of a son with Down syndrome (whose name is also Timothy), I want to thank you for this post. How I wish that those who are considering abortion of a Down syndrome child could see our happy, healthy 6-year-old! He truly is a blessing from the Lord.I love that line—“those long sentences in the book of providence”—and pray that somehow people would become more patient readers of our Creator’s work.
Amen! “”Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exodus 4:11).
But don’t these two statements contradict each other? “This does not mean that God deliberately caused the child to be born blind in order that, after many years, his glory should be displayed in the removal of the blindness…This man had been born blind so that the power of God might be displayed in him.”
Wonderful article, Tim. I love the take-away quote from Matthew Henry about the long sentences of Providence…that’s one to keep in mind share with others.I have to agree that Bruce’s statement seems contradicted by what our Lord Himself said about the cause of the man’s blindness (“”It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but gthat the works of God might be displayed in him”) and the quote above from Exodus.
Thanks for the really helpful and well-written thoughts. Great job.
Science and medicine often go astray with the advent of new technologies and procedures; once available the industry feels the need to use them. Twenty-three years ago my sister in law’s middle child was born Down’s. Contrary to the attitude of many in our society who would terminate such a pregnancy - usually at the behest of the practitioner even if mom is not at risk - this child was born. Defying the mental gymnastics society uses to justify terminating such a birth he has become a blessing to all who know him. Not without struggle mind you. Or multiple surgeries and doctor visits. Or an exceptionally heavy burden on mom and dad and his siblings. But he is absolutely one of God’s special creations. You simply cannot help but smile whenever around him. He was crowned ‘King’ of his High School prom and was the school ‘mascot’…loved by every kid. We asked him to be in our wedding, to stand for me - the groom. His fitted Tux and beaming smile told all. Today he continues to defy the odds and remains with us. Who could trade such a life for a ‘medical procedure’ to eliminate daily discomfort? God does not make mistakes. Our world would be lacking without this child.
As we advance in science in terms of being able to determine if someone is likely to be diseased or suffer from numerous afflictions, it is a strange new world. To look into the unborn and determine genetic markers of disease is scary. My youngest son developed juvenile diabetes at the age of 5 . It has been a up and down ride for almost 11 years now with many sleepless nights early on and at least 3 close calls where he almost went into shock because of an extreme blood sugar low. Plus the cost of medications averages between 3000-5000 a year.
My point is what if you are given that option of testing for markers of early onset disease. How many would say ,well it will interfere with my life and justify ending a child’s life based on a purely selfish motive. God shows His love strongest to the broken and poor , the helpless and it tells us what type of society we are becoming as we move towards as Dr.Mohler called it , a culture of death. Those born or who develop problems are put into our lives to grow us in grace and show forth the Father’s love. In His providence there are no missteps!
When one reflects on all humans are created in the image of God , that He knits us together in the womb ,one cannot help but see all human life with dignity and worth. But cast off this truth and all we are is walking goo , to be discarded if faulty or broken. May we champion that life is sacred and no matter what , we bear in us the image of God , created for His glory.Once again the only hope for this fallen world is the gospel of Christ that makes all things new .
How could we even begin to imagine, let alone fathom the full glory and sovereignty of God, were it not revealed to us against the backdrop of our infinite depravity.
Great post Tim… Thanks!
Dan…
“This does not mean that God deliberately caused the child to be born blind in order that, after many years, his glory should be displayed in the removal of the blindness; to think so would again be an aspersion on the character of God. It does mean that God overruled the disaster of the child’s blindness so that, when the child grew to manhood, he might, by recovering his sight, see the glory of God in the face of Christ, and others, seeing this work of God, might turn to the true Light of the World.”
So did God “accidentally” cause him to be born blind and then just made the best of it? I’m not sure I’m comfortable with Bruce’s characterization here.
Great post, Tim. Thanks so much for your thoughtful and clear piece. It is hard to digest what our loss of confidence in God’s providential ways will continue to mean. I hope all of us will take the “long view” not just in these matters, but in our marriages, jobs, and personal relationships, especially when we face setbacks and huge disappointments. Thanks again.
I love this article Tim…how awesome that God wants to display His works through so many means, including through the lives of those with disabilities.
This may sound extreme but I have often thought that perhaps a worthwhile prayer would be that God would will that more children with disabilities would be granted to Christian, pro-life couples rather than the many in society who would simply go out and terminate these pregnancies. Not only would more children with different disabilities be saved from abortion but also this would be an awesome testimony to the wicked world we live in that God’s people are truly for life no matter what the circumstances and disabled people are precious and not a bane to society.
There is no one like Matthew Henry. His way of articulating profound truth so clearly and memorably is incomparable…Thanks for the article, and the quote!
Though it is the typical thing to state as a Christian, there truly is so much we can learn from simply watching and being involved in the life of someone with a physical disorder. I had a friend who had Asperger’s syndrome and he was such a joy to be around. He was genuine, creative and a delight. He helped put life into perspective when I wanted to be a little, or a lot, grumbly.
The glory of God in the brokenness of man. Who would have thought?
Great post!Of two families I know that have a child with downs, both children are a unique blessing to everyone and the parents have a incredibly close bond.Everything is about convience, and an avoidance of sany sacrifice, yet if only we grasped that the best blessings come out of sacrifice (like marriage and children).I absolutely believe children just aren’t looked upon as blessings, even within the church their meerly tolerated, not wanted. Voddie Baucham made the statement that most people aren’t Pro-life, they’re just ANTI-abortion! He has also said if you don’t believe that then watch a mother with 5+ children walk in a church (being a father of six, i know what that looks like from ‘Christians’)A blessing? It’s about the only ‘blessing’ i can think of that people say ‘this much and no more please!”
L. MackayLarryYou make a good point! The fact is that it’s NOT a punishment, I see a tremendous blessing that so many were blind and yet they had more sight (spiritual) then those with eyes!My first boy Ezekiel, at 1yrs had a terrible asthma attack (which I know firsthand what it’s like to be hospitalized for asthma) anyways at the time i was transistioning in my theology (from pentecostalism) but i remember before going to the hospital crying out to the Lord with my son in my hands. That crying out quickly became frustrating accusations towards the Lord, and in the midst of that, the Lord put a question in my mind (or spirit or whatever you should call it) ‘do you think you love him, MORE than i love him’ to this thought I was absolutely crushed and have since had a peace about the things my children have suffered (especially as i grow in the knowledge of His love and sovereignty).
Dear Larry F. (6)
Had we never disobeyed God, our human kind would have remained perfect and immortal (without decay). No child would have ever been born with any imperfection. Of course our disobedience (sin) was part of His plan. But even then, it was not imposed upon us, it was truly, and simply, and perfectly, self-inflicted. And our sovereign God allowed this to happen. He didn’t have to, but He did allow it nonetheless. All so that He could demonstrate His power and glory in the rescue of a fallen people.
All,
Now, our human sensibilities are shaken to think that a loving God would allow a man to experience decades of blindness and begging. However, if we are honest with ourselves, and think things through biblically, it is easily discerned who was truly responsible for the sightless state of this poor man. He, like all of us are heirs of Adam’s sin.
There was a thought that struck me earlier today when reading Tim’s post. The blind man certainly suffered for an extended period of time to be sure. But look at the glorious ending he has in this story. What would you give to have Christ take you by the hand, rub your eyes with His spittle, and then have the very first light that you see be the True Light shining from the face of the Son of God? Would 3 plus decades of darkness be worth such an experience? Absolutely!
In Christ,
Dan…
As an adoptive father of two Down syndrome children, I greatly appreciate the article. It is undoubtably true that my children’sdisability prevents them from doing many things our other children can do, and yet their particular and distinct personalities manifest a sweetness and a trust which is uniquely different from my other children. I personally have no problem believing that our God, “who works all things after the counsel of His will” can and does deliberately create some people with minor and gross “defects” for the express purpose of bringing glory to Himself. My daughter, who listens to her iPod with a mixture of hymns and praise songs, cannot articulate the gospel message or explain doctrinal points, but when she hears a familiar song from our worship time, she excitedly exclaims, “Holy, holy, holy!” and assumes a prayerful position.
Both of our Down’s kids (a brother and sister), have a God-given tenderness toward those who are elderly and/or ill. Our visits to a local nursing home provide the opportunity for them to hug and “pat” those who greatly need just those very things. What a sad thing that so many cannot and will not see that the glory and beauty of God can be evidenced in the lives of anyone He chooses to use.
What a powerful testimony to the work of sin in the world, that at the very time the most remarkable advances are being made in medicine to help those born with special needs, the world is trying all the more to kill them in the womb.
Thanks Dan.
I’m not real comfortable with the “God allowed it” approach to the bad things we experience in this life. God is sovereign over all things and, in fact, ordains all that comes to pass. “Allows” is a passive statement which I don’t think we can apply to a God who is active in the affairs of men. We cannot say God sovereignly chose to use the affliction without also saying God sovereignly chose for the affliction to be present in the first place.
Scripture is clear, in this particular passage, that God ordained the blindness of this man for the specific purpose for which it was used so I’m not sure where Bruce is getting his particular take on the passage.
This does not negate the fact that death and disease are a result of Adam’s (and our) sin but emphasizes God’s sovereignty even over the effects of the Fall.
What a timely article. On Saturday afternoon, I manned an animal rescue booth at a local streetfair. Within a four hour stretch, my husband and I encountered two adults with Downs Syndrome. One was a middle aged woman who, up until a few months ago, attended the same church as I do. She greeted me with a gleeful, “I know you!” and a hug. A few hours later, a middle aged man and his caregiver asked to visit with the greyhound we had with us. Suddenly, he looked up at my husband, pointed and said, “I know you.” Confused, my husband politely said that he did not think so. But the man insisted, becoming a bit agitated that my husband had forgotten. As it turns out, my husband was wrong and the man that society deems “mentally retarded” was absolutely 100% correct. My husband had bowled against him one time, for less than an hour 9 years ago. Sorry about the long story, and I do have a point for posting it. How often, do we so called “normal” (for lack of a better term) take the time to make a connection like that? How often do we go up to someone we don’t know well to give them a hug? Do we remember someone’s name nine years later because they were nice to us in a bowling alley? These folks are gifts, not burdens, and certainly have a better grasp on the concept of Christian love than most.
Hi Larry F., (18)
First of all, thanks for understanding my post and its only intended purpose, e.g. all was said in the “love of Christ”.
I can fully understand your discomfort with the “God allowed it” line of logic. My basic thinking on this is that we know from the Word that our living God “has no darkness” in Him whatsoever. That is why I’m quite comfortable sharing with people my belief that we (the human race, with Adam as our representative) are solely responsible for the very existence of sin. God didn’t create sin, the creature created sin when the first disobedience occurred in the garden. God knew with absolute certainty that this sin would occur and had designed a rescue plan before “anything was made”. Logically, When we consider God’s infinite knowledge, power, and glory; His foreknowledge, and (dare I say it…) allowance of an event that is counter to His nature and desire is something that we as mere men struggle greatly to fathom. I have no problem with the concept of Pharaoh being raised up by God for the single purpose of demonstrating His power to the Israelites of the day, and also for the continuing edification of all who would read about it afterward and believe. Now I think we’ll agree that the ancient Egyptians were also the descendants of Adam. Yet there was nothing about this civilization (that I know of) that honored the true God of the universe. Yet for a time they thrived because ultimately it would serve God’s intended purpose. Not only did God “allow” a sinful and decadent people to exist, He raised them up, they thrived for a time for a specific purpose. This purpose was the glorification of an almighty God.
I think that part of the problem here is that we tend to apply our own foibles and limitations to our all powerful and Holy God. When it comes to God’s understanding of things like time, love, space, love, power, love, intelligence, love, purity, love, infinity, love, eternity, love, forgiveness, love, goodness, love, atonement, love, etc… I’m sorry that I got tedious there with the word love, but I wanted to make a strong point, which is: When you consider our depravity, especially when it is contrasted against (illuminated by) the perfect light of our Holy Creator, I can find no rationale reason for our creation, let alone our continued existence, other than God’s infinite love for His people! So where do I go from here….
The Holy Bible says that God desires that all men be saved. 1 Timothy 2:4 (NIV) says this absolutely. However, by the same source of Truth we know that not all men will be saved. Mt 7:13-14 (NIV). For this to be true it must be that God “allows” some to perish. As I mentioned earlier, we cannot apply human standards and references to an all powerful God. Nothing can resist Him, but some things are allowed to fall short or fail. This happens even when it is not His desire, but is in fact His sovereign will.
I think it is safe to say that it was not God’s desire for His Son to die for a sinful people. But we know beyond any doubt (because it happened) that it was His will… Luke 22:42 (NIV)
In Christ,
Dan…
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22 [What] if God, willing to shew [his] wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
IMHO Our human idea of “perfect” may not be Gods, if indeed the purpose of creation is only to glorify God..