THE GENERATIONAL CURSE

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man that was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him saying "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

When he had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him "Go wash in the pool of Siloam. So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Therefore the neighbors and those who had previously seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him."  He said, “I am he.” John 9:1-9

This is another one of my favorite stories from the bible. This man, who was a dredge on society, who people looked down their nose at, was used as an example to mankind to show the power of true faith. It reminds me that God still exhausts those who the world hates or has forgotten. The story of the blind man is a vivid example that just because a person is healthy, powerful, and has 20/20 eyesight...it doesn't mean he has a true spiritual vision.

The man was born blind. Many people believed that he was born blind as punishment for something his family or ancestors did before he was born. Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents had sinned.” Jesus was not saying that this man or his family had never sinned. Scripture says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. What Jesus meant was that regardless of whatever sins were committed, or whatever generational curse that plagued his family, Jesus was saying that God allowed the blind man to be born blind so that he could be used as an example of the power of faith, and the power of the words of Jesus Christ.

If you read my testimony, you will see that I never met my biological parents, yet their D.N.A. still runs through my veins. My biological mom was an addict, and I became an addict. My biological father was a violent kid who ran off to the military to avoid prison... I did the same thing. I had all of their traits, mannerisms, and quirks. I had their propensity for violence and addiction. My criminality came naturally to me. It may have been a response to the chaos that swirled around me as a child, but I naturally took to crime and violence at a very early age.

My only biological daughter, Kay, was born a month and a half after I was locked up for murder in 1993. Back then, her mother would bring her to visit me every week at Cook County Jail in Chicago for the first two years of my incarceration. I watched Kay's first tooth come in, saw her first steps and heard her first words. Then, her mom found another man, stopped visiting, put a block on the phone, and erased me from their existence. She got married, allowed her new husband to adopt Kay, and had my parental rights taken away. I never stopped fighting to stay in Kay's life, but could only watch her grow up from afar. I was facing murder charges that carried the death penalty at the time, and even though I always kept up with what Kay was doing I felt like me being a part of her life was not in her best interest... I felt like her mom and new husband could give her a better life than I could. Legally, I couldn’t reach out. All I could do from prison was watch, pray, and hope she didn't turn out like me. I felt like I had abandoned her as my parents abandoned me, and prayed that she would be better off without me.

Her mom kept my identity and what I did from Kay as best she could, but Kay, even at five was not to be denied. She looked like me, continually asked about who I was, sounded like me, and has my smile. She began to struggle with substance abuse like me, committed the exact same crimes I committed as a juvenile and had a propensity for violence that was uncommon in most young girls. She wound up in juvenile facilities and later adult prison. This is a textbook case of a generational curse if I ever heard of one. The only thing that can break the chains of generational curses is the Blood of Jesus Christ.
Kay was in prison when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. When I began to play in the choir, she got into praise and worship music where she was at, after accepting Christ into her life at roughly the same time I did. Keep in mind that we did not know each other, and I had not seen her since she was about two years old.

A day did not go by when I didn't think about her, pray for her or stop loving her, even during times when my mind to told me I would never see her again-my heart and my faith that God answers prayers never waivered, because He makes the impossible possible. On July 11, 2020, on my 51st birthday, God answered my prayers: Kay left me an email a few months after she got out of prison. The crazy thing is that she didn't t know it was my birthday, or that she had given me the greatest gift a father could receive. Since then not only has she become my best friend, but she has allowed me to resume my role in her life as her father, expects my advice, and seeks my spiritual guidance.

The blind man could not see, but he could hear, and he knew the voice of Christ was something special when he heard it because it spoke to his heart, and caused him to obey. Jesus spits on the ground, and rubbed dirt in the man’s eyes, and told him that would work. As absolutely crazy as that had to sound to that blind man's ears, the words of Christ penetrated that blind man's heart, causing the blind man to have faith. And when the blind man obeyed without fully understanding how any of what Jesus had told him could possibly work, his vision was restored.

Sometimes God tells us to do something or puts us in situations where we don't understand how what He wants could possibly work. We still must keep the faith. We still must listen because God's plan always works...even if you don't like the answer. Sometimes God says no so he can say yes to someone else, and in doing so, your prayer still gets answered. For 25 years, I hatched all kinds of unsuccessful schemes to win Kay back. He told me no so He could tell her yes. My prayer was answered due to actions that had nothing to do with what I did except for having faith. My victory came from putting my hope entirely in God's hands, and walking away knowing "it's already done." I had a tendency to pray for something, and then try to come to follow upon God's work, getting in my own way. I had to learn how to put (and keep) my hope in him.

The question is: Why put your hope in things you already see? Why put your hope in things you already have? Why put your hope in things that have already failed you? Why put your hope in things that have already disappointed you? Why put your hope in things that you know will be instruments of your demise and self-destruction? Why put your hope in other people? Put your hope in Jesus Christ because He is our only hope.

God used that blind man as an example to mankind, but let me clue you in on something: We have ALL been the blind man. We were all blind, and with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we can all see now. We can all change.

There is no greater example of change than when God uses a woman or man who society has to spit on, cast aside, thrown away, marginalized, put in prison, labeled a nothing, a beggar, a felon, or an addict - There is no greater example of the type of person God can use to show that the Blood of Jesus can break every chain, end every curse and cleanse any sin. There is no greater proof to show that any and everyone who has faith, regardless of where they are or what they have done, can become a new being in Christ Jesus so that the world can see that Christ is with us, the Holy Spirit is in us, and God makes the impossible possible.