“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” — John 1:4
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I grew up in the generation where we learned much about life through watching it on a television screen. When it comes to faith, one of the things that introduced me to the life of Jesus was the 1970s television special “Jesus of Nazareth,” of which my dad was a big fan. Regardless of your feelings on the program, it does set up several moments that remind me of God’s sheer magnificence. Particularly, one of my favorite scenes is when Jesus heals a blind beggar and gives him sight, causing the man to declare in a mixture of awe, bewilderment and triumph, “I can see!! I am not blind anymore?!”
This scene has always struck me. It reminds me how each of us has a moment when we are figuratively cured of our blindness to God. We experience the wonder of seeing a life that isn’t caught up in the ways of the world but is solely built around serving a loving God who gives us the eternal gift of peace through His sustaining grace. Once we experience a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, our spiritual eyes see things we could not imagine before, when we were mired in darkness, sadness and shame.
The Body of Christ works in a world that is increasingly dark and dreary, and I often think about how often we share of how we see through the darkness thanks to the healing light of the Lord, Jesus Christ. How do we share with people around us the magnificence and blessing of that first time we truly “saw” Him? How can we share about the hope and mercy found in this world through the goodness of God? In essence, we see the brokenness and sadness around us, so how do we help bring sight to those who cannot see a way out?
The first step in sharing the “sight” granted to us through a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is to be a beacon of hope for all people around us. If you haven’t in a while, take time to open your Bible to Galatians 5:22-23 and read how followers of Christ can be vessels of the Holy Spirit to the broken world around us. Prayer, providing for physical or financial needs, and spreading words of encouragement are all points of light that illuminate spiritual darkness. Darkness flees from these things, so as the Body of Christ, let’s strive to bring this “fruit of the Spirit” to the world’s marketplaces.
Another step in how we bring sight to the spiritually blind around us is to do what the Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to do in His final instruction to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20. The Body of Christ needs to be actively telling the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ, from His birth to His resurrection; we need to share of His miracles and of His words of encouragement. We need to tell friends and enemies alike of His teachings, being honest about how we will face trouble in the world but how He, the Son of Man, overcame the world and even its harshest penalties (John 16:33).
Followers of Jesus are not blind; we have been blessed with the ability to see. How were we cured of our blindness? Jesus Christ — the Way, the Truth and the Life. In Jesus there is life, and His life gives light to all of mankind (John 1:4). What awe and triumph pondering over this brings each day to the hearts of all who experience Him. And what a privilege we have to help those who are lost “see” a pathway to peace in a tumultuous world.
— Jon Oglesby
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