One Thing I Know

A man, born blind, had just been cured in a very remarkable way by the Lord. His eyes, which had once been sealed, now became a mighty proof of the divine power of Jesus of Nazareth. The Pharisees, the resolvers of the religious difficulties of that day, questioned the man about the character of the One who had healed him. This he refused to do, but said: “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). This fact was indisputable. There he stood as witness. They were silenced by the statement of a simple fact, stated in a simple way! He said, “I know.”

Let us observe a few things this man did not say.

First, it was not “I think.” We must relinquish the reign of our thoughts and ideas in these matters. Naaman thought that Elisha would require him to do some great thing for his healing (2 Kings 5:11), and Paul thought that his purpose in life was to torment those who followed Jesus (Acts 26:9). When we follow our thoughts, we often go wrong.

Secondly, he did not say “I feel.” Feelings are the evidence of my senses, and are as changeable as the sand of the desert or the waves of the sea. You cannot build on either. It would be a poor thing indeed if the truthfulness of the Word of God depended on my feelings about it. A person suffering from fever will shiver on a summer day. We dare not go by our feelings.

Thirdly, the blind man did not say, “I doubt.” Doubts may characterize the skeptic or atheist, but not the one who has proven the truth of God’s Word. That Word, when received by faith, banishes every fear. It places the sinner on the ground of being utterly lost. It reveals to him a Savior once dead, now glorified, whose blood cleanses from all sin, and whose work on the cross makes full atonement. It assures him of salvation.

Happy is the soul that can truthfully say, “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” There is no testimony so powerful as that which is drawn from experience. If I speak what my soul knows—not just what I have heard from others—I speak in power. If you know forgiveness of sins, bear witness to that; if justification, or sonship, or whatever truth you have made your own, tell it out faithfully, distinctly, by word and deed, so that the blessed Savior may obtain praise for the salvation He has given. —J. W. S.