Farewells can be hard. As we spend more time with someone, we grow closer to them. We open up and share more of ourselves with them. When the time comes to say goodbye (because someone migrates or passes away), it can be hard. After following Jesus for three years, the disciples now have to face the reality of Jesus needing to leave them and go away (John 16:5). After a little while, they will no longer see Jesus any more (John 16:16). Jesus came forth from the Father and came into the world. Now, it's time for Him to leave the world and return to the Father (John 16:28). As a result, sorrow filled the disciples' hearts (John 16:6). The one whom they had relied on for the past three years, the one who solved all their problems, and the one who answered all their questions, would be gone. Jesus would soon have to be arrested and crucified, and the disciples would all scatter and leave Jesus alone (John 16:32).  Jesus loves His disciples, and hence He makes this farewell speech to His disciples (John 16:1-4), to mentally prepare them for all the challenges they face. In the next chapter (John 17), Jesus goes a step further to pray for His disciples as He sends them into the world. When we say our goodbyes, one of the most comforting things is knowing that we can see each other again.  This gives us hope, something to look forward to amidst all the sorrow.  Jesus has already said He will not leave them as orphans (John 14:18). Though He leaves for a moment, He promises to return. In fact, it is good that Jesus goes away so that the Helper will come to them (John 16:7). When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide them into all truth and continue telling them the things of God (John 16:12-15). And when the Helper comes, Jesus promises that, like a woman who has given birth, their sorrow will turn into joy. They will no longer remember their anguish. They will rejoice, and *no one can take away their joy from them* (John 16:19-22). The downpouring of the Holy Spirit brings us great joy (Acts 13:52, Gal 5:22-23, 1 Thess 1:6). Though today Jesus is not with us physically, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is Jesus Himself abiding in us (John 14:15-18, 23-26). We are in a similar position today, awaiting the second coming of Jesus. In the meantime, we face tribulations and hardships in the world. We toil and labour to make a living; we succumb to unexpected illnesses; we are at the mercy of many others around us in our lives. Yet, just as Jesus promises in this chapter, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (evidenced by speaking in tongues). The abidance of the Holy Spirit gives us true hope, joy, and peace amidst our difficult times. Farewells can be hard.  However, one of the most precious things about our Christian faith is that, though Jesus is no longer physically with us today, we need not fear and can wait in anticipation of His return.

When reading the Bible, a really edifying exercise to do is to underline key words and phrases, or any repeated themes. If you tried to do this for this chapter (like I once did), your Bible will be filled with markings, because words like "blind", "see", "eyes", etc. repeat so much throughout this chapter. The key event in John Chapter 9 is a man born blind being healed by Jesus. Jesus passed by the blind man, anointed his eyes with the clay, and asked the man to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. The blind man obeyed, and came back seeing. Yet, this only takes up a few verses in this chapter. The rest of the chapter focuses on the spiritual eyes of the man slowly being opened. When asked by others how his eyes were opened, the blind man first referred to Jesus as "a Man called Jesus" (John 9:8-12). Then, when questioned by the unbelieving Jews who accused Jesus of being a sinner, he first responds with "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." (John 9:24-25). Yet, when furthered questioned, he gave a very powerful answer, proclaiming his faith: "The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvellous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”" John 9:30-33 NKJV This resulted in him being cast out by the Pharisees. This "casting out" is not just being asked to leave the synagogue, but rather being excommunicated and no longer having anything to do with the Jews. We then see the love and compassion of Jesus: Upon hearing that he was cast out, Jesus went to find him. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshipped Him." John 9:35-38 NKJV Here, the spiritual eyes of the initially blind man are fully opened. He sought to believe in the Son of God, and when Jesus revealed Himself to him, he again proclaimed his belief and worshipped. The opening of the man's physical eyes only spanned a few verses, today's chapter details the gradual opening of his spiritual eyes. We may not be physically blind today, but are our spiritual eyes open? Do we truly recognise Jesus as our Lord and bow the knee to worship Him?

Amidst all the chatters and noises, can we hear the voice of Jesus, telling us who He is and calling us to follow Him?

What are some key themes in the Gospel of John? What can we learn?

Hosea Chapter 10 has two agriculture-related metaphors. What do these metaphors have to do with us today?

Are we at a risk of losing the blessings that we have received from God?

What does it mean to know God? As we go about our daily lives, have we inadvertently left God behind?

What does it mean to sincerely seek the Lord? How can we be sure that we are truly seeking for Him?