It’s easy to pick on the disciples. They had a remarkable ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. They interrupted Jesus, misunderstood his purpose, and regularly missed what was right in front of them. Peter, James, John, Thomas—and of course Judas—give us no shortage of examples. Again and again, they just didn’t seem to get it.
I’ve been reflecting on that as we enter Missions Month at CLA, especially while reading John 9:1–12. It’s a familiar story—Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth by using spit and mud. It’s a little uncomfortable, a bit messy, but it ends with healing and freedom.
But the story doesn’t begin with the miracle. It begins with a question.
The disciples ask Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
In their world, this was a reasonable question. Suffering was commonly understood as the result of sin. If someone was sick, disabled, or struggling, there had to be a reason—and usually someone to blame. Pain wasn’t mysterious; it was judgment.
Jesus responds by refusing the premise altogether.
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” he says. “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
The shift is subtle but significant. The disciples are focused on why. Jesus is focused on what now.
They want explanation. Jesus moves toward compassion.
They want meaning. Jesus brings healing.
Then, without further discussion, Jesus acts. He gets his hands dirty. He steps directly into the man’s pain. Explanation gives way to obedience, and blindness gives way to sight.
We are often more comfortable asking why than offering ourselves. It’s easier to analyze brokenness than to move toward it. Even in mission, discussion can feel safer than action.
As we reflect during Missions Month at CLA, the invitation is not to have perfect answers, but willing hearts and obedient hands. Mission doesn’t begin when everything makes sense. It begins when we trust God enough to show up.
At CLA, mission isn’t only something we support—it’s something we live. Locally and globally, we are invited to participate in the work God is already doing. This month, may we resist the temptation to ask the wrong questions, and instead listen for where Jesus is calling us to act in love.
