Care for the Blind

I was once spiritually blind—hiding in my comfort zones, doing things the way I want them to be done, pursuing things I never should, indulging on my selfish desires. It was a desperate condition. It was a state of uncertainties.

Brownout is indeed a vexing experience especially in the peak of doing something important. The schedule one has is critically affected. The day becomes dull and boring. Last June 5, about 10 in the morning, there was a power cut in the neighborhood. It lasted until at 12:30 in the afternoon. Then, power failure arose again by one o’clock. It was a terrible afternoon—I had no means to watch TV, listen to radio or even read a book. The worse thing, my mobile phone had low battery. Mind-numbing! Whew! It was already evening and yet, there’s still brownout. Nevertheless, I fell asleep at 11 o’clock. Late that night, I woke up and felt like peeing. But whoa!, a total darkness is all there was—not even a twilight! Well of course, it’s necessary for me to get rid of my urine. So, I got up from my bed and prayed that God would protect me from tripping or losing my footing. And God is good; I had safely gone to the comfort room and got back to my bed. Lying awake that night, I was thinking, “Is this how it feels to become blind?” A murky darkness! A fear of tripping down and stumbling; a distress of becoming lost; an apprehension of being left alone. It is a gloomy and anxious feeling. But then, I was reminded by a very essential principle. If physical blindness is a dangerous condition, how MORE precarious spiritual blindness is! There can be similarities with what they feel. Likewise, a spiritually blinded person fears of stumbling against his struggles and challenges. He is distressed of the possibility of getting lost in the journey of life. He has apprehensions of being left by the people he loves; or has anxiety of losing the things he possesses. Lost with no direction… With all these things running through my mind, I had felt compassionate with physically blinded people; all the more, I had felt benevolent with those people with spiritual blindness, who as of the moment are doomed for eternal death. Of this I am certain, GOD CARES FOR THEM. Jesus healed hundreds or thousands physically blind men, in the instance of Bartimaeus. And when Jesus spoke of “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39), He was talking about spiritual blindness. Some physically blind men neglect their handicap, accept it optimistically and still manage to become productive. But woefully, spiritual blindness has no positive value. It is a severe serious illness with Jesus as the only medicine. I was once spiritually blind—hiding in my comfort zones, doing things the way I want them to be done, pursuing things I never should, indulging on my selfish desires. It was a desperate condition. It was a state of uncertainties. Who doesn’t know of the John Newton’s classic hymn “Amazing Grace”? Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretched like me I once was lost, but now I’m found Was blind but now I see. This is what Jesus has done in my life as I have accepted Him as my personal Savior and Lord. He has healed me of my spiritual blindness. He has transformed my appalling and hopeless life. He has become the light of my world. And this is the resolution God wants His people like me to do, to those He has already healed to see: we should help others see as well. Let us allow ourselves to become instruments of God’s amazing restoration. So the next time we meet a “blind” man, let’s be reminded that this man needs Jesus, the only cure for spiritual blindness.