Blind

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be blind? I guess we could walk around with our eyes closed to find out. But that's not really being blind. We can still see light through our eyelids. What if things were totally dark?

My family went to Mammoth Cave when I was in high school. When you're down in the cave one of the things they like to do is turn out the lights to you can "see" how dark it is. Man, it is REALLY dark! I bet that's what it's like to be blind. Absolutely no light what so ever.

I am currently reading a book to my wife. No, my wife is not blind. It's just something we do. She takes a bath and I read to her. Anyway, I'm reading a book called Homer's Odyssey, a birthday gift for my cat loving bride. It's a story about an eyeless cat and how he manages to get through life . . . totally blind.

The author pointed out something interesting early on in the book . Homer, the eyeless cat, has never known what it's like to see. The cat probably doesn't even know it's handicapped. It has never known anything else. The sad thing is, that cat will never know what it is like to see.

My Grandma Johnson was blind. We used to visit her at her small house in Michigan. She grew violets inside and had racks of beautiful looking plants in her house. How she kept them looking so good was beyond me. She couldn't see them!

She had a rope that ran from the front door of her house out to the mailbox at the side of the road. She couldn't see the mailbox but she knew she would find the it if she just followed the rope long enough.

One day we were told that my grandma was going to have an operation. It could potentially restore her eyesight. I didn't pray back then when I was a kid but I was sure hopin' she would be able to see again. And she did! That was SO cool!!

What is it like to be totally blind and not even know you are blind. It's just life as normal I guess. And, on the opposite end of things, what is it like to suddenly see?

There are people in this world who have never heard of Jesus. They have no clue at all that there is a God who loves them, who cares about them and has a gift waiting for them. But how will they ever hear about Him unless somebody tells them? Unless someone "opens their eyes" so they can see.

A surgeon opened my grandmother's eyes by transplanting someone else's lenses, replacing her defective ones. We can't do that with people in our lives who don't know Jesus. As much as we would like to give sight to those we love who are "God-less," that is something that God Himself must do through His Holy Spirit.

As someone who had his spiritual eyes "repaired" late in life I can tell you it is a wonderful experience to suddenly see all of the things I missed. They were actually all around me. I just could never see them. But the scary thing is . . . I didn't know I was blind. I had no clue.

We who believe have been given a command from God - to deliver the Gospel to those who are blind. God's Holy Spirit is like the surgeon who repaired my grandma's eyes. He will take care of the important part. All we need to do is deliver the blind people in our lives to the eye doctor.

"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing." - John 9:1-7

When we place our faith and trust in Jesus we receive God's Holy Spirit. Our lives become changed. I speak from first-hand experience. When we come before His throne and lay our sins at His feet, He picks them up and throws them away. He has already paid the price for our sins on the cross. Having paid the ultimate penalty for our sins we are suddenly set free and given new life, in Christ. Where once we were blind, we suddenly can see. If you have never placed your faith in Jesus and come before Him, guilty, and seeking His forgiveness, please do you today. You would not believe the things you can see through your new eyes as a child of God. Sin, repentance, forgiveness and faith. It's a simple formula. Go to Him today . . . and see. :)

Amazing Grace - Elvis Presley