I was speaking with a young pastor not long ago, and he was sharing with me his great frustration with trying to minister to people who just could not see their particular need, or the One who stands before them, fully able and willing to meet that need. It's a frustration I understand very well, for it's one that I have felt through most of the ministry He's given me. We want people to "see," and so desperately do we want that, that we try to use every means possible to make them see. Such an approach is not only doomed to failure, but it is a sure formula for our own discouragement and sense of failure. Only Christ can turn the water into wine, and only Christ can make a blind man see.
I was recently reading anew the account of Paul's spiritual transformation on the Damascus Road. Known then as Saul, he was on his way to Damascus to harass, and arrest any who were now following the risen Christ. He'd recently been a very willing participant in the murder of Stephen, and he was completely willing to do the same to any who followed the Christ that Stephen had preached of. Not only was he willing, but he was totally sure of the rightness of his position. He believed he was doing the will of God. Yet, in Acts 9, Christ Himself appeared to Paul, and the light of His Presence was so intensely bright that he was knocked to the ground. Verse 8 reads, "As Paul picked himself up off the ground, he found that he was blind." Saul, who thought he saw and knew everything so clearly, was so right about what he thought and believed, had to be struck blind before he could see. A central and spiritual truth is that before we can see He who is Truth, we need to understand first that we are and have been blind. When Saul found that he was blind, he was now ready to truly see. This makes little sense to our rational minds, but the Lord has never made himself accountable to what we believe is rational. Like so many others both before and after him, Paul could now say, "I was once blind, but now I see."
I was recently reading anew the account of Paul's spiritual transformation on the Damascus Road. Known then as Saul, he was on his way to Damascus to harass, and arrest any who were now following the risen Christ. He'd recently been a very willing participant in the murder of Stephen, and he was completely willing to do the same to any who followed the Christ that Stephen had preached of. Not only was he willing, but he was totally sure of the rightness of his position. He believed he was doing the will of God. Yet, in Acts 9, Christ Himself appeared to Paul, and the light of His Presence was so intensely bright that he was knocked to the ground. Verse 8 reads, "As Paul picked himself up off the ground, he found that he was blind." Saul, who thought he saw and knew everything so clearly, was so right about what he thought and believed, had to be struck blind before he could see. A central and spiritual truth is that before we can see He who is Truth, we need to understand first that we are and have been blind. When Saul found that he was blind, he was now ready to truly see. This makes little sense to our rational minds, but the Lord has never made himself accountable to what we believe is rational. Like so many others both before and after him, Paul could now say, "I was once blind, but now I see."
In the spiritual realm, blindness can take on so many different forms. It can be total, as in the case of the unbelieving Saul, but it can also be partial, having the form of what we call, "blind spots." We may see many things clearly, but in our walk, there are places, spots, where we remain blind, where we don't see things as they really are. This can happen through disobedience, deception, self absorption, fear, or just a stubborn refusal to believe we're wrong. Such a case appears in 2 Kings 6 where the prophet Elisha and his servant are surrounded by the soldiers of the kingdom of Aram. In panic the servant cries out to Elisha, "Ah my Lord, what will we do now?" To this Elisha replies, "Don't be afraid. There are more on our side than on theirs.......O Lord, open his eyes and let him see." The Father answered this prayer and the servant's eyes were opened, and he saw that the great army of enemy soldiers were themselves surrounded by an even greater army of "horses and chariots of fire." Victory belonged not to the men of Aram, but to the two servants of God.
I say this to make two points. First, it is not our place or calling to make people "see." It is our place to come before Him in broken intercession and pray that He, who alone has the power to give sight, gives sight to the blind, to open their eyes that they might see. Whether they are in total blindness, or merely suffering from various spiritual blind spots in their own lives, we must realize that only He can make them see. Last, we have to be willing to allow Him to make us aware of where we ourselves may be blind. Places where we have been so sure we are right, whether in ministry, relationships, or our spiritual worldview. Only when we realize the reality of that blindness will He "open our eyes that we might see."
Blindness in any form can only be healed by the supernatural transforming power of Christ. All of our efforts, no matter how sincere, will come to nothing. Only Jesus can make the water into wine. Only Jesus can make the crippled man walk. Only Jesus can make the blind person see. Where might our blind spot be?
Blessings,
Pastor O
I say this to make two points. First, it is not our place or calling to make people "see." It is our place to come before Him in broken intercession and pray that He, who alone has the power to give sight, gives sight to the blind, to open their eyes that they might see. Whether they are in total blindness, or merely suffering from various spiritual blind spots in their own lives, we must realize that only He can make them see. Last, we have to be willing to allow Him to make us aware of where we ourselves may be blind. Places where we have been so sure we are right, whether in ministry, relationships, or our spiritual worldview. Only when we realize the reality of that blindness will He "open our eyes that we might see."
Blindness in any form can only be healed by the supernatural transforming power of Christ. All of our efforts, no matter how sincere, will come to nothing. Only Jesus can make the water into wine. Only Jesus can make the crippled man walk. Only Jesus can make the blind person see. Where might our blind spot be?
Blessings,
Pastor O
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