Servants of Excellence

He therefore answered, “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25

The story of the blind man in John 9 is fascinating in so many ways. Here we find a stunning miracle, where a blind man receives his sight. Yet, the Pharisees vilify Jesus and toss the young man out of the temple for one of the silliest reasons imaginable: Jesus picked the “wrong” day—the Sabbath—to help a person in need.

But every time I look at this passage something new pops up. For instance, the once-blind man’s response to the Pharisees when they ask him to condemn Jesus as a sinner. “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know,” the man says. “One thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

Isn’t it fascinating to see that when a person’s life is dramatically changed, they are no longer interested in quibbling over non-issues? The blind man was confronted by the Pharisees regarding Jesus’ working on the Sabbath; he just doesn’t care. In his mind the Pharisees could argue over the Sabbath all they wanted; all he knew was he could do something now he could not do before: See!

It’s the same with us in the pregnancy help community. A salient example are the babies born because of our help; babies who otherwise would never receive their first breath of life.

As these babies grow into young men and women, they will no doubt be told they owe their very lives to their moms and possibly dads who made courageous decisions. And the same time, many are also reminded of a debt they owe to a pregnancy help center, clinic, maternity home or adoption agency.

Of course, there are the modern-day quibblers who will question or complain that we are somehow “anti-choice,” “anti-woman” or whatever “anti” they can come up with.

These who are alive today because of our work may be confronted by the false idea that we are somehow “sinners” in today’s society. When they are, I suspect their answer will be, “What their label is, I do not know. But one thing I do know; today I am alive for all to see.”

So take heart. Each day, our mission confounds many of the leaders of this world. But each day, we reach more and more who will one day tell the world our story. And our story of life is one this world truly wants to hear.

by Kirk Walden, Advancement Specialist