“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
(Luke 4:18-19 ESV)
In the dark. Perpetually stumbling around, grasping and flailing, hesitantly reaching for something to guide as a sense that can offer guidance because everything is in the dark. There is no knowledge of your current location and there’s no knowledge of your bearings around you. Just because there’s movement does not mean there’s progress. All that is clear is that nothing is clear – everything is in the dark.
It’s made worse if you initially thought you knew what it was to see. If your vision had a relationship with the light, and then that light was removed, the contrast could not be more stark. The devastation of the loss and its effect on everything would be major. The one who would become the Apostle Paul saw a great light and was afterwards blinded. His encounter with light left him in the absence of light until the true light shone and brought sight back, but a new vision.
When our eyes are opened to the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we see ourselves in a way we had not before. However conscious we were of our imperfections, the gospel shines a light on the seriousness of the situation as far as God is concerned. The vision, however, doesn’t start or begin with us. It starts and ends with the visions of Jesus. The suffering servant, the crucified king, the risen Lord, the ruler in waiting, seated at the right hand of the Father. These visions reveal to us the love, mercy, mission, righteousness, and justice of God. These visions help us see what we could possibly experience and what we might miss out on if we continue in the dark.
It is a glorious thing for the physically blind to have their sight restored. It is a marvellous aspect of Jesus’ ministry that the blind could see again after an encounter with Him. It is an even more glorious thing when the spiritually blind have an encounter with the Light of the world, who turns their night into day and transfers them to His wonderful kingdom from the kingdom of darkness.
Do we appreciate what’s happened to our vision because of the gospel? Do we understand what it says about where we were and where we can be because of Christ? Does it bother us that there are still so many who are blind and have been blinded by the prince of the air? Does it bother us that people are fumbling and stumbling around on a path that leads to destruction? Does it bother us to the point that we’re keen to share about this light in word and deed?
In light of Jesus’ service, which offers sight to the blind, the challenge for those who follow Jesus is to reflect this in our own actions. How do we recognise those who are blind? How do we follow the leading of the Spirit to help blinded eyes to see and let the light shine so those in darkness can witness the radiant light of Christ?
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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