How about reading the 9th chapter in the Gospel of John in your Bible? You won’t be sorry. It’s one of my favorites. How could it not be? I identify with what takes place. Okay, I’m not blind, but what transpires between Jesus and the one who has no sight resonates within me.

This encounter is all about God’s reach. How much the Lord wants us in His life. What lengths He goes to to wrap us up in His loving arms, never letting go. The full extent of His outstretched hands, grabbing hold of you and me.

This blind beggar had no idea who performed this unasked-for miracle. Nowhere in the story does he call out to Jesus for help. Just sits where he usually does, hoping for the generosity of some passersby. For a handout to make it through another day. To get by is probably all he can think about.

When, lo and behold, a man rubs some gooey mud in his eyes. What? Is someone making fun of him, performing a prank at this poor man’s expense? Hardly. Quite the contrary.

Jesus reaches out to a man in need. Why? You know. The same reason He’s reached out to you. And me. After all, my own story has much more to do with God moving in my direction than the other way around. Indeed, I always had questions about God and Jesus. Too bad that no one around me had answers that satisfied.

But one Sunday evening, while flipping through the radio dials, I heard a program that spoke about Jesus’ love for me. And I knew that it wasn’t family, neighbors, or even my social-club home church that had my sought-after answers. No, I found them in a Bible that I had received as a third-grader from the church I was baptized in as an infant, which book I’d kept on a far-off shelf in mint condition for over eight years. Never opened, never read. But that was about to change.

The very next morning, I crack open my Bible and start reading the New Testament. Why there? I’ve no idea, but I’m glad that I did, for the Old Testament might have proven quite taxing for a day-old newbie in God’s Kingdom!

In time, old questions find answers. Yes, new quandaries emerge, but the important stuff gets settled. Adding icing to this delicious spiritual cake, I find a church in my hometown that preaches from the Bible, whose members talk about Jesus as if He’s their best friend. For He is!

What’s interesting to me is that behind all this business of my moving toward God is, first of all, His hand reaching out to me. It’s no accident that I happened to hear about God’s love while listening to the radio that Sunday evening. No ‘lucky break’ that I have my own Bible ready to read the next day after praying for Jesus to come into my life. No ‘fluke’ or ‘karma’ that I attend a church that faithfully preaches God’s Word. No way. It’s Jesus all the way. His reach.

Your story? You have one, don’t you? Can’t you sense Jesus’ hand reaching out to you, making you His own? Like what happened to that blind beggar years ago. And this devotion writer, needing a touch from above. And you…

Thank you, Jesus, for finding me and never letting go. Amen.