The Blind Man

John 9:1-7
CHAPTER 9
1 And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?"3 Jesus answered, "{It was} neither {that} this man sinned, nor his parents; but {it was} in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.4 "We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work.5 "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, sent). And so he went away and washed, and came {back} seeing.(NAS)

This story actually fits right in with the Piper book I'm reading right now. Everything that happens fits into God's plan, and eventually glorifies Him. This blind man wasn't blind as some sort of punishment, he was blind so that Jesus could heal him and show His glory. It's the same with other tragedies. They all have a purpose. Our suffering has a purpose. In case you're wondering, the book I'm referring to is Spectacular Sins, by John Piper. The book is all about how God allows terrible things to happen, but how they somehow glorify Him in the end.

As a side note, it's interesting in the story of the blind man to note what Jesus says in verses 4 and 5. It's hard to say for sure, but it seems like Jesus is saying there is only a limited time where these miraculous works (like healing a blind man) will occur. It's only a bit of a theory, but one with historical evidence. After Jesus left, some of the believers performed miraculous signs for a while longer, but these signs eventually stopped.