Jesus brings us into such a close relationship with him that he compares it to his own relationship with the Father! How secure is that! How well he knows us and how he is committed to growing our confidence in him. No wonder he talked about giving us life to the full! The end makes us think about how we will respond to Jesus - may it be thanks, trust, worship, following, telling others.

Jesus is so focused on his sheep. He knows us intimately. And the focus of the sheep? Listening to his voice! He gives us discernment to hear his voice. Let's pray that we will listen and follow after him. How he cares for us!

What we see when we look at Jesus is the ultimate eye test. The religious leaders with all their knowledge and education failed the eye test. They knew nothing of who God is. The blind man made them look foolish - he urged them to see, but they wouldn't. Jesus came looking for this blind man who had been thrown up and brought him right in.

We need to be given new eyes to see Jesus. It's another way of showing that we need to be born again. We should pray for eyes to see Jesus every time we open his word and when we come to worship. And we should use our testimonies - I was blind, but thanks to Jesus, I now see!

We need to be careful not to have a world view of suffering like the disciples. Our God is kind - all suffering is an opportunity for God's kind works to be displayed. Once again, John takes us back to Genesis to show us who Jesus is. As he created Adam from the dust he creates this man new eyes from the dust. May we have eyes to see Jesus and trust him more and more.

Jesus is the I AM who delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. Jesus walked with Abraham. Abraham knew him and looked forward to Jesus' coming. Jesus has been, is being and will be glorified by the Father in all the world. The I AM died to give us life forever.

Jesus sets us free. The devil makes out that following Jesus is slavery, but that is a lie from the father of lies. Sadly the religious leaders had totally misunderstood the Law of Moses and had failed to know God as Father. The Son came to brings us into God's family as children. Abraham knew this and welcomed Jesus (the Angel of the LORD) when I met him. These descendants of Abraham were so unlike him!

What a statement - Jesus is the light of the world. There is so much in these words. Sadly the religious leaders completely misunderstood the Bible, didn't understand the Trinity and therefore ran away from the Light. May we see that at the darkest hour of the cross, the Light shines the brightest because we see the heart of our Heavenly Father.

This account is a beautiful part of the Bible that shows the kindness of our God - come as you are to him. May we not fall into the trap of teaching that people need to clean themselves up before following Jesus. Come as you are - but none of us get to stay as we are.

Jesus is the great Healer of the nations. Come to him and be refreshed and be a refresher of others.