“I once was blind, but now I see.” It has happened often to me
By Dean Collins
I’ve been blind more than once. I assume you can make a similar confession. We’ve come to know and love a favorite hymn with the often-quoted line, “was blind but now I see.” I believe the author, John Newton, would admit it was a long process to see clearly both his sin and specifically his role in the horror of the slave trade. Maybe it’s a lifelong process for anyone to fully see clearly. This might have been part of the apostle Paul’s point when he said, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
“Amazing Grace” was first published in 1779; 193 years later, in 1972, a singer-songwriter named Johnny Nash recorded another song you know. This song says, “Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind….” Another favorite, “I Can See Clearly Now” has been covered by many artists and played by thousands of marching bands over the last few decades. Seeing clearly is a favorite theme.
Many kinds of blindness
Isaiah got me thinking about blindness this morning. I went to the dictionary and found many definitions for blind, including many degrees of blindness. Of course, many of these definitions speak specifically about our eyesight. But blindness can also describe mental and psychological health. You have likely discussed someone’s “blind spots” referring to the things they don’t understand about themselves and their behavior. We are far more comfortable talking about someone else’s blind spots than acknowledging that we too possess some.
Isaiah proclaimed that God will act as guide to lead his children forward. Being in exile for 70 years brings disorientation. It would have been nearly impossible for some to know the path forward. Many were born in exile and likely lost family in exile. There was a sense of hopelessness and loss of direction that God promised to address for his beloved.
Imagine the shock, the relief, the joy when Jesus healed physical blindness. The man born blind in John 9 gave a clear and direct response to the Pharisees when they questioned him about Jesus and his involvement and his restored sight: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
As the religious leaders argued with the formerly blind man, his parents, and others, Jesus proclaimed he came that those who could not see would have sight. He also said the opposite result comes as judgment for those who do not want to see, understand, admit, or discover their blind spots. They simply will not be able to change.
Choosing to see
Jesus didn’t come just to bring insight. He came, lived a sinless life, died, and rose again to bring transformation. Our transformation starts with a prompt of the Holy Spirit. We, like those in Isaiah’s time, must choose to receive God’s healing of our blindness and lostness or continue to look away from Jesus to someone or something else to depend on. Isaiah called out the worthless idols that some chose to trust over God. When we put our hope and trust in empty and hollow systems and people, we will end up stumbling, tripping, and falling.
But when we come to Jesus daily he lights the path, reveals the way, illuminates our blind spots, grants us wisdom and understanding, and allows us to become a flashlight to shine a beam of hope to someone else who needs help on their journey.
If I want to see clearly today, I will need to check in with the source of light and life. If I want to live a life that expresses amazing grace to others, I must daily take up my cross and follow Jesus.
The work of our Savior on the cross was accomplished once and for all time. Eliminating our blindness is a work in progress.
Open our eyes, Lord, that we might see you clearly and receive your transformational work each day. Open our eyes to see others the way you see them. Open our hearts to love as you have loved us. And fill our open hearts with courage and conviction to go and serve wherever and whenever you call us. In Jesus name, Amen
Your time with God’s Word
Isaiah 42:16-25; 1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV
Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash
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