Behind The Mask

I was sitting in church yesterday, wondering what I would write about for this morning's blog. I didn't have a clue. Usually, something pops into my head a few days in advance, but not this time. I was at a loss. Then I opened up the church bulletin. Ding!

Do you know these guys? They look kind of grumpy to me. They're from a place called Easter Island - 2,300 miles west of Chile, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Very mysterious. Here's a few interesting facts about these figures (Moai).

1. No one knows how they got to where they now stand. They would have had to come a distance of eleven miles - without the use of wheels, cranes or large animals. On average they stand 13 feet tall and weigh 14 tons.
2. The huge heads actually have bodies underneath them. They're buried! Up to their chins!

The first question that pops into my head is how did they get buried? Well, it's a volcanic island. I can guess how they got buried. Boom! But there they stand - nearly covered up by the world around them - and no one knew anything about them. Perhaps the residents of the island perished in a volcanic explosion? No one knows. People live there now but no one knows the tale of the moai.

Have you ever felt buried by all the worldly stuff you wade through on a daily basis? I sure do. We get saturated by it. It engulfs us and pulls in toward itself like a giant black hole.

I think we all have people in our lives that seem blind to all of the worldly things that happen around us. Just watch the news! Where are the loved ones who come alongside them to tell them they're wrong? Yeah, that's supposed to be us I guess. And we do that! We talk to them, we pray for them, but still they don't listen. Why? It's because they are blind.

Did you ever see the movie Field of Dreams? It's a fictitious story about dead baseball players who came back to life to play baseball in a farmer's field. No theological message in that! There is one scene where a little girl falls and is dying. There is a man with a red beard. He cannot see the ball players like the farmer and his family can. But then something happens (watch the video at the bottom). Suddenly he says, "When did all these ball players get here?"

The scales were removed from his eyes on might say.

In the Bible there is a story about Jesus healing someone who was blind (John 9). Was Jesus trying to show everyone that He could heal people? Or was He trying to deliver a deeper message?

After the healing takes place. Jesus deliver the REAL message of His encounter with the blind man.

^"35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” - John 9:35-49

There are many spiritually blind people in this world. Many suffering ones as well. They are buried up to their necks. Sadly, a lot of them go to church on Sunday. SO, what should we do? First, we pray. Continually. Then we should start asking these people questions. Then we should pray some more.

As much as we would like to, we can't change people's minds. Only God can do that. But we can get them thinking. We are called to reach out to the lost, the hurting, and to "make disciples." Let's pray for softened hearts, boldness in our speech, and love in our words and deeds. We too were once blind. But now we see.

John 9
Easter Island Heads Have A Surprise
Doc Saves Karin - Field of Dreams