“While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and
pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from
death” (Heb. 5:7).
Of Andrew Bonar, a Scottish minister used mightily of God during the
great Revival of 1839-1840, it is said, he cared, wept and prayed like Jesus.
In the 17th century, Samuel Rutherford, said, “A bed watered with tears, a throat dry with praying, eyes a fountain of tears for the sins of the land are rarely to be found among us.”
Recently, David Smithers of the “Awake and Go Prayer
Global Network,” wrote, “Far too often our own eyes are dry because we are blind
to the needs around us... blinded by the temporal, we
can no longer see the holiness of heaven and horrors of
hell.” (edited)
I recently read “If you can
see where you are going, you are not walking by faith.” That definition fits me: I am presently waiting for the Lord to give me new direction. Having finished my cancer treatments, I am now officially in
remission, though I will, however, be receiving quarterly CT scans and blood
work that will alert me to cancer's return. That said, what is better than an unknown
future to foster a life of faith?
Yesterday I told a friend that God has graced me with ‘blinders.’ The word just popped into my head. So I
searched Google and asked ‘why do they put ‘blinders’ on a horse?’
I learned that the main reason for blinders is to help a
horse stay focused on what is in front of him and oblivious to the rear. Blinders also encourage the horse to pay attention to the race rather
than other distractions, such as other horses, or boisterous crowds that might
spook him. Little did I know how appropriate it was when I told my friend that God
had graced me with blinders.
A friend wrote me recently about a surge in Messianic Judaism in his
country; it is a blend of evangelical Christian theology with Jewish traditions, like observing the Sabbath and Jewish
holidays. I told him this movement is nothing new.
Paul warned Peter against those who
were compelling Gentiles to live like Jews, denying them their
freedom in Christ, and putting them under a yoke of slavery for
not celebrating holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths, things
that were only shadows of the reality yet to come, Christ himself (Gal. 2:14, 5:1; Col 2:16-17).
It is easy to see these practices as shadows. But to some
degree, and in our own ways, do we not find ourselves still living in the shadows rather than the full light of our freedom in Christ? “Satan, the god of this
age, has blinded the minds of unbelievers [and ‘unbelieving’ believers] so
that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory [the reality] of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4).
Over my 20+ years of employment with the Federal government,
I had many co-workers from different regions of the U.S. One time a co-worker from the South, said: “I
miss magnolia trees; there are none in California.” Of course that’s false—we had a magnolia tree in our yard at home. Another time, a co-worker told me there were no drive-up banks in California. Both of these ‘foreigners’ had come to false conclusions based on a small vantage point. They were short-sighted.
Short-sightedness began with Adam, who, at Eve's beckoning, succumbed to the wiles of forbidden fruit (symbol of desires that claim our immediate attention) and concluded
it was a better offer than God’s long-term plans. In hindsight, you and I ask astonishingly, ‘how
could anyone be so short-sighted?’
But are we really any less so?’
Whether by ignorance or willful neglect of God’s truth, all of us have a propensity for short-sightedness, “falling short
of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). After reminding his readers they have inherited God’s
divine nature, whose qualities include moral excellence, self-control,
perseverance, godliness, love, etc., Peter tells them if we were not growing
in these, they must be either blind or shortsighted” (2 Pet 1:9). Let us examine, honestly, our own short-sightedness. “Open our eyes so we may behold these wonderful
things” (Ps. 119:18).
After two months of chemo therapy for pancreatic cancer, a CT scan revealed that 2 spots on my liver had gotten bigger, or so it seemed. The fact is that these spots are so small that the increase could be explained by the way 2 different radiologists measure them. Regardless,
I am still receiving chemo infusions. And, I will have another CT scan
next month. If there is no further change
in these two little spots, we will assume they are not cancer, but cysts. Then, after 6 weeks of radiation therapy, we wait and
see.
But more important than revelations on a CT scan are revelations of truth I have received during this present trial, many of which are returning to me from posts I wrote in the past. For example, in August 2009, I wrote: Toward the end of his
earthly life, Jesus said “the ruler of this world is coming, and he finds
nothing in me” (John 14:0). Peter explains that Jesus is “the
lamb without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). There was not even one spot for
the devil to get a foothold in Jesus’ heart.
I do not know if I have two little spots of cancer on my liver. But what a great reminder to me that someday Jesus will return for a Bride
that is without “spot” (Eph. 5:27). And, in Christ, I am already spotless.
Reading “Dear Abby” in the Sunday paper (don’t laugh!), I was struck by the word she used to describe a man who disapproved of a friend's homosexual marriage. She said the man was “unenlightened.”
There are two rather different meanings to the word “enlightened.” The first is “to give information or understanding to someone in order to free them from ignorance, prejudice, or superstition.” According to this definition, an “enlightened” person would embrace religious pluralism while anyone holding to 'Jesus only' exclusivity would be “unenlightened.” (Call me “unenlightened.”)
For this, we are indebted to the “Age of Enlightenment” when it was presumed that man’s power of reason was better at explaining the world than an outmoded theistic, biblical worldview. Ever since, Christians have been relegated to the status of the "unenlightened" (still living in the “Dark Ages”).
But the second meaning of the word “enlightened” is “to give spiritual or religious revelation.” Accordingly, Paul prays we will be enlightened by the Spirit's revelation of God. (Eph. 1:17-18). In contrast, Paul describes people who walk according to the values of this world as blind and darkened in their understanding (Eph 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 4:18). And they call us "unenlightened"?
The term “blind spot” is used in ‘automobile driving’ language to describe an area of the road that cannot be seen through the rear-view or side mirrors. Car manufacturers have developed something called Blind Spot Detection (BSD) which uses radar sensors mounted at the side of the car to reveal the ‘blind’ zone. Of course we also use the term “blind spot” metaphorically to mean a person cannot see themselves clearly. These “blind spots” can be due to ignorance, denial, or prejudice. Maybe we all need something like BSDs to see where we have blind spots, because as we look back (through our rear view mirrors) we are unable to see how people, and our reactions to them, affect us presently.
Paul had a giant blind spot (as did all the Pharisees): he was unable to see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise of the Messiah. Ironically, Paul had to be struck blind on the road to Damascus so that he could see Jesus for Who He really was!
I wonder if Paul remembered the words of Jesus: “I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind” (John 9:39). Was he among those Pharisees who heard Jesus’ words, and asked: “Are you saying we are blind?” During the three days Paul could no longer "see," he experienced a paradigm shift, reexamining the prophetic Scriptures that revealed Jesus to be the Son of God.
We should not overlook the implication of Paul’s experience. Admittedly, we have blind spots—we are unable to “see” Jesus as He is: the glorified and risen Lord who has called us into a life-giving relationship. Knowing the Ephesian believers were unable to ‘see’ Jesus in all His glory, Paul prayed “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you will know the hope of His calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance…” (Eph. 1:18). As we read and meditate on God's Word, let us pray for this enlightenment (our "blind spot detection" system) that we might truly “see” Jesus.
