Going Blind to See

We are created with eyes to see. Sight is a precious part of God's design for us. Unfortunately, a person can be born without the ability to see or can lose their sight at some point in their lives. John 9 tells us about a man who was blind from birth. Jesus performed a miracle and gave the man his sight. This marvelous miracle should have elicited joy from all parties, but the Pharisees turned it into a controversy. They accused Jesus of being a sinner because He did not keep the Sabbath. Furthermore, they said Jesus could not perform this miracle because He was a sinner. In their efforts to discredit Jesus, they engaged the man who received his sight and his parents in an inquisition.

At the end of John 9 Jesus spoke some words that every person should contemplate. He said, "...For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may be made blind" (John 9:39). In this statement, Jesus transferred sight from the realm of the physical into the realm of the spiritual. It is possible to have perfect physical vision and spiritually to be totally blind. This was the dreadful condition of the Pharisees. They were confident in their ability to see but were blind to spiritual truth. They need to go blind to see. Jesus said to them in John 9:41, "...If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."

Many medical advancements and procedures have been developed and perfected to help people with physical sight. At the same time our world has become even more spiritually blind. The spiritual darkness that grips our world today is pervasive and alarming. So many are like the Pharisees in John 9, confident of their sight but spiritually blind.

We all need to go blind to see. We need to become blind to any perceived self-righteousness so that we may receive the righteousness of Christ. Only when we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ will we be able to stand in the presence of Holy God.

We need to become blind to the sins of others so that we may be see our own sins. It is possible to be fixated on the sins of others and see every flaw and fault but oblivious to our own sin. The Pharisees who were so critical of Jesus in John 9 saw all the sins of Publicans and tax collector but inflated their own works and performance. Because of this their sin remained. The Publicans and tax collectors such as Zacchaeus received forgiveness because they were not blind to their own sins and cried out for mercy and forgiveness.

We live in a world that is often arrogant. Many are confident that their sight is perfect and their knowledge is flawless. Individual politicians, political parties, cable news networks and individual citizens seduced by the voices to which they listen blare out their dogmatism. Because they insist they see they remain blind. Worse still, their sin remains.

Those of us who profess faith in Christ and declare ourselves to be followers of Christ need to be humble in the way we hold our faith. We can become just like the Pharisees, self-confident, smug and arrogant. Our prayer should be the words of the song writer who wrote the song "Open my Eyes that I May See." The first verse says,

Open mine eyes that I may see

Glimpses of truths thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for thee

Ready, My God, thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit Divine!

Thank God for the wonderful gift of physical sight. The gift of spiritual sight is the greater need and greater blessing. Help us Lord to be willing to go blind to see!