Daily Devotional: Grace & Truth (Day 9)

Reading: John 9

Toby and Dixie Tobias were regular and active members of the first church I served in San Jose, CA. They sat on the right side of the church, a few rows from the front, towards the center aisle. I remember their image because they were there every single Sunday. It is etched in my memory. I came to find out later that this was not always the case.

For a few decades, Dixie came alone. Toby would come for special events that his children were involved in and the usual Christmas and Easter services. He had always kept God at a distance doing his best not to believe in Him. He had a well built smoke screen of logical reasons that Jesus was not real. Like so many people, he was scared to have God to be a part of his daily life.

Then one day Toby suffered a brain aneurysm. He went to the emergency room and the doctor told him, “You should be dead. There is no explanation for why you are alive.” At this point, when telling the story, Toby stops talking. He quietly shakes his head (in disagreement with the doctor’s assessment) and points up. After being released, Toby never missed a Sunday again (barring illness). He was there every week to worship the God who saved his life.

You can only deny God so long. You either wilt under the pressure of one example after another of his presence – only to be surprised by the grace and truth, or you get stuck in your pride and look at life with your eyes closed.