Have you ever driven into the sun or driving snow and found it hard to see the road? One Thanksgiving we visited my wife’s sister and, on the way, home we had to drive through snow that, at times, was completely blinding. While we can be blinded physically, we can also be blinded spiritually. Sin can blind us.
Jesus addressed spiritual blindness as He talked to the blind man who was healed in John chapter nine. In the background are the Pharisees who are listening to his conversation with the man who was healed. While the Pharisees can see physically, they are blind spiritually.
John 9:35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” 37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” 38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. 39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” 41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see. [1]
Sin Blinds us Spiritually
Our spiritual blindness not only hinders us from seeing God accurately, it also hinders us from seeing ourselves properly. We think our sinfulness is not that bad and that our goodness is better than it really is.
Sin can give us blind spots. Blind spots cause us to misjudge our sinfulness, and thus we need the Holy Spirit’s help to bring Biblical conviction to our lives. John 16:8And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.[2] When the Holy Spirit is in our lives, we will see harmful patterns in our character. But without the Spirit, we could not see those blind spots. I have wondered, “How could I have missed this for so long?”
We need God’s loving correction even when we think there are no problems. We all have blind spots which the Holy Spirit can expose and help us correct.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, in you there is no darkness; there is only light. I confess to you that certain areas of my life are hidden in darkness. I am blind to the ways that these areas are hurting my relationship with you, myself and others. Remove the scales from my heart, mind and eyes, Lord. I don’t want to walk in darkness any longer. Use whatever it takes to completely eliminate blind spots from my faith journey. Thank you that I can become more like your Son every day through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
To hear more about the healing of the blind man, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/encountering-jesus-with-a-blind-man
[1,2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.