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| Beautiful picture taken and graciously provided by Aaron Barton |
Do
you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do
you not see, and having ears do you not hear? Mark 8: 17b – 18a (RSV)
I glanced in the rear view mirrors and began moving
over into the left lane when suddenly a horn blared causing me to jerk the car
back into my lane. None too soon.
Disaster diverted. I totally did not see
that car although it was right beside me. Blame it on the “blind spot.” Do you have a blind spot in your car?
This incident started me thinking about the blind
spots we Christians have. Do you think
you might have a blind spot, or two? I
think I do. Sometimes maybe that blind
spot obscures sight due to immaturity or flat-out ignorance. More often I suspect it’s due to
arrogance. We can become obsessed with
our preferred style or methods and lose sight of the Cross.
Caution is advised when sentimental pious
self-consciousness turns our eyes on self and away from Christ.
The Pharisees had a blind spot. They couldn’t see
Jesus. God Incarnate walked among them yet that haughty crowd saw Him not.
His humble disciples saw Him.
Then
he saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? And Peter answering says to him, “Thou are
the Christ.” Mark 8:29 (Douay-Rheims)
John the Baptist saw Him.
The
next day, John saw Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold, the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29
Now I suppose one could say the Pharisees had all
the trappings of having it all together.
The crowd Jesus hung with didn’t appear to have much going for them but
their devotion to Jesus. When the Pharisees looked upon Jesus, they saw “a man gluttonous, and a drunkard, a friend
of tax collectors and sinners.” (See Matthew 11:19)
Not only did they not see, they didn’t want to see.
Seeing Jesus for who He was would have totally shook up the world as they
knew it, like it did for Saul.
Saul had a blind spot. He was a Pharisee, a very religious man, who
hated Jesus and persecuted Christians.
God, in His mercy, cured Saul’s blind spot by striking him down by His
light, blinding him completely. Only
then did Saul see the Lord and understand the Truth. This revelation of Christ
totally changed him into a devoted servant of the Lord Jesus Christ who spent
the rest of his life as the apostle Paul, a missionary and teacher of the
gospel.
Christians suffer from blind spots which we think of
as benign until they cause us to behave in anti-Christian ways toward one
another.
Might it be possible that our own individuality and
temperament is obscuring our vision? Do we have obstinate attitudes that have formed and hardened – possibly based on past hurts, habits, or prejudices –
and we don’t even want to examine them in the light of God’s Truth?
When I first wrote this, I listed examples from my own experience, then deleted them, because I
didn’t want to inadvertently step on toes. It’s better to examine ourselves in the light of God’s Word.
A
new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you,
that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my
disciples, if you have love one to another. John 13:34-35 (KJV)
And
above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover
the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 (KJV)
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| Hopeland Gardens, Aiken, S.C. |
Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by Write Moments with God. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments. I appreciate hearing from you. Be blessed.
Note to Readers: This meditation has nothing
whatsoever to do with recent events in the media.
