That the Works of God Might Be Seen in Them
"Who sinned, this man or his parents?" That's the question that opens John 9 — and it's a question that still gets asked, in different words, about anyone whose body or identity doesn't fit the frameworks we're handed.
In this guest message, Esther Loewen — a licensed marriage and family therapist and former pastor — walks through three places where the story of the man born blind in John 9 echoes her own experience, and the experience of many trans people today: being treated as a puzzle to solve rather than a person, the holiness of embodied transformation, and the demand to testify again and again before being believed. Esther shares pieces of her own transition story and ends with a question for the whole church to sit with: if God were doing something sacred in the life of a trans person, would you be able to see it?
🔑 In this message:
Why John 9 "rhymes" with trans experience — from suspicion, to interrogation, to exclusion
The difference between Side A, Side B, and fully affirming approaches to LGBTQ+ people in the church
Why physical, embodied transformation can be an act of faith, not a failure of it
The role of personal testimony in Christian faith — and why it deserves to be heard before it's judged
The closing challenge of John 9: would you recognize the works of God if you saw them?
Wherever you find yourself in this conversation, we invite you to listen with an open heart. This message is for anyone wrestling with identity, belonging, or what it means to be fully seen.
Paradox Church | Redlands, CA
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