Jesus Answers 9 Essential QuestionsSample

Why do bad things happen?

When Jesus walks by a man who was born blind, his disciples ask the obvious question—why do bad things happen to people like this man? Their assumption is that bad things happen to people who do bad things: “Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?” Jesus debunks that equation, “de-coupling” the reality of the griefs we all experience from our own cause-and-effect behavior.

Rather, says Jesus, bad things are a normal aspect of our reality, and he intends to upend their destructive impact by making beauty out of ugly. “He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him.” And then he embodies those words by offering the man a chance to see for the first time in his life, if he will do what Jesus asks him to do.