When I drive my Miata with the soft top up there is a blind spot just over my left shoulder that can make lane changes hazardous! Just a few degrees of my peripheral vision is obscured but it is enough to hide a car overtaking me. Knowing this, I am extra cautious, adjusting my position and double checking my mirror before moving into the passing lane. It took a couple of near misses to educate me about this blind spot, thankfully with nothing more than my pride damaged by the rude gestures and blasts of the horn from the drivers I'd just cut off!
There is another kind of blind spot that is even more troublesome, that which obscures some part of our spiritual vision! Jesus engaged with religious leaders while He walked this earth who simply would not see the Truth He brought. Of them, He said, "They look, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really listen or understand." (Matthew 13:13, NLT) They were dealing with big blind spots, created by their traditions, their assumptions, and their pride. Nothing, it seemed, could open their eyes, not even direct challenges, not even miracles!
In John 9, we read a story of a man blind from birth that Jesus healed. What should have been cause for rejoicing brought about a crisis for the Pharisees. If they acknowledged the miracle, they would have to reassess their conclusions about Who Jesus really was. So, they chose to attack the man. "Who healed you?" they probed. "I don't know," he replied. When pressed by the board of inquiry to denounce Jesus as a `sinner,' the man grew bold. Take a look. "I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" (John 9:25-26, NLT)
Are you open to God's leading, ready to acknowledge His work even when you don't fully comprehend what He's doing? Are you willing to consider that He can operate outside of your preconceptions without asking your permission? I am not suggesting that we become foolish or gullible!
Discernment is a spiritual gift, one that is very important. However, it is simple to confuse discernment with prejudice! Prejudice, as the word's appearance suggests, means that we have prejudged a situation or a person before giving them consideration, before listening to all of the facts. When Jesus returned to the man He had healed of blindness, He found a person ready to consider His claims to be God's Son, the Savior. The Gospel says that the man believed and worshipped Him. The Pharisees, on the other hand, refused the evidence! "We are disciples of Moses. We know God spoke to Moses!" and with that, they dismissed the possibility that they could revere Moses and see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the First Covenant of the Law.
The chapter closes with a terrible indictment. "Jesus said, "If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure."" (John 9:41, The Message) In other words, if you were truly ignorant, God would not harshly judge you, but since you're determined to live without letting anyone, including Me, point out your blind spots, you bring judgment down on your own heads!
Disciple, be open to the work of the Spirit!
In this season when we remember and celebrate Resurrection Life, live in it! Let God lead you to new discoveries of Who He is, what He is doing, where He is leading. It has been said that the seven deadliest words are "We've never done it that way before." Tradition is great. We derive stability in life by drawing on the experiences of the past. But, if we only focus on yesterday, resisting all things new, we will certainly develop blind spots about God's work right here, right now. That blindness will lead to death. Near the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus wept over Jerusalem. "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God's news! How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn't let me." (Matthew 23:37, The Message)
May He never weep over us because we have turned away from His offer of Life.
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