BLINDED

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NLT)

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Countless people walk through life every day blinded. It’s sad but true.

Now, usually we use the phrase, “blinded by the light”, when we discuss the matter of losing sight, much like what would happen if someone intentionally tried to stare directly into the sun. Such a foolish act would lead to permanent damage of the retina in less than two minutes.

Spiritual blindness, the kind of blindness that so many people walk in as mentioned earlier, is drastically different. For instead of being blinded by the light, spiritual blindness is about losing sight of the Light, capital “L”, the Light that is Jesus. In other words, in a twist of the well known saying, a person is “blinded from the Light”

This is the point the Apostle Paul is making as we look at our two verses that form the base for today’s message, They come on the heels of a pretty involved discussion as to how the faces of Jews who were still enamored with the old covenant of God were living with their faces veiled, hidden from the true glory of God found in His Son Jesus. Their rejection of the One who was the Light removed their ability to see the truth and cost them the chance for eternal life.

As we look at verse 3, we find Paul expanding the cohort of people who were hidden behind a veil shielding them from the Good News of the Gospel. This expansion covers all those who chose to rebuff Jesus and therefore joined the multitudes who were (and are) perishing, those destined for eternal damnation and torment instead of an everlasting life of glory.

Okay, so there are incalculable numbers of non-Christ believers out there who are spiritually blind and perishing but is there someone or something contributing to this issue, someone or something that is influencing the personal choice of the individual?

We find the answer in verse 4 for it’s there that Paul makes it clear that Satan, the “god of this world”, was responsible for blinding the “minds of those who don’t believe”, preventing them from being able to “see the glorious light of the Good News” that Light being Jesus.

This spiritual blindness caused by Satan keeps the afflicted from seeing Christ and understanding the “message about His glory. And without being able to see Jesus or have knowledge of Him, the blinded person is unable to know how to live as He lived. They are not able to become more like God created them, in His image, because they can’t see the Son who was the perfect reflection of His (and our) Father God.

The Apostle Paul knew all too well what it was like to like a veiled life because he had lived that kind of life before Jesus came to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Paul also knew the power that Jesus possessed, the power to remove the veil and open up eyes to His glorious Light. He knew it because that power came upon him when Ananias paid him a visit in his Damascus room and touched Paul’s eyes. The scriptures tell us that something much like scales fell from Paul’s eyes and he could see again. He could see his prior wrongs but more importantly he could see his bright future, a future held by Jesus, the Light of the world, the One who was the “glorious light of the Good News”. And from that point on, Paul committed himself to help others come out of blindness so they might be able to clearly see Jesus, their only hope for salvation, the only One who could keep them from perishing.

Today, we get to carry on the work of Paul by answering the Great Commission given by Jesus, the Great Commission that helps to remove the veils of unbelief and bring sight to those who were once blind. What an amazing privilege this is, to be able to assist people in seeing the one true Light and then be a light themselves for the world to see, a light that reflects Christ who is the Light of the world.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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