NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

REFLECTION
JEREMIAH 31:7-9 
HEBREWS 7:23-28 
MARK 10: 46-52 

The Gift of Sight is the theme for our reflection.  A blind person needs the gift of sight to be able to see. I have identified three main types of blindness for which we need the gift of sight. The good news is that Jesus gives the gift of sight to all types of blindness. We shall discuss our reflection according to the following points; 

1. God is compassionate towards the blind and the marginalised.  

2. There are three types of blindness (Physical or biological blindness, Moral blindness and Spiritual blindness) 

3. Jesus is the Healer and the High Priest who restores the sight of the blind.  

Firstly, it is important to note that God hears the prayer of His children but He is particularly concerned and compassionate towards the blind and the marginalised in society. Jeremiah demonstrated God’s compassion and willingness to rescue the blind and the marginalised among the Israelites during the time of the Babylonian invasion and captivity. “See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth.  Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labour;  a great throng will return.  They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back.  I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble,  because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.” (Jeremiah 31:8-9) Similarly, we see Jesus’ compassion towards blind Bartimaeus when he called upon Jesus to restore his sight. (Mark 10:46-52). This must be the response of all Christians and the Church towards the marginalised in our societies. We must demonstrate compassion and love for them through social ministry so that through our effort we can give them hope and a reason to see or perceive a brighter future.  

Secondly, it is again important to acknowledge the fact that there are three types of blindness and God shows His compassion and can give gift of sight through Christ to anyone suffering from any of the types of blindness.  These types of blindness are physical or biological, moral and spiritual blindness. 

The first type of blindness we shall talk about is physical or biological blindness. Bartimaeus falls under this type of blindness. This kind of blindness may be due to an injury to the eye, eye disease or in some cases some people can be born blind. In John 9:1-3 “As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 

The second type of blindness is moral blindness. Some people have healthy eyes and can see every object they come into contact with but they lack the sense of what is just or what is good or bad.  They are morally corrupt and therefore are morally blind. ”But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them” (1 John 2:11). Those who are morally blind have “…have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,  slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:29-32). It is possible to have a good physical sight but at the same time be morally blind.  

The third type of blindness is spiritual blindness which is the most dangerous type of blindness. It is possible to have physical sight and be morally upright yet be spiritually blind. Anyone who has not received Jesus as Lord and Saviour and is not saved is spiritually blind. It should be noted that when you have spiritual sight, it automatically gives a moral sight, however, moral sight does not lead to spiritual sight. We see this in Jesus’ interaction with the rich young man. Jesus told the rich young man “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’”  “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy. (Moral Sightedness)”  Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack (Spiritual sightedness),” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he ha great wealth.”(Mark 10:19-22).  Many Christians mistake self-righteousness which is borne out of moral consciousness or moral sightedness for Spiritual sightedness. They simply have a sense of morality but have little or no idea about the Divine. It should be noted that you may have a sense of morality but your relationship with God can be poor. Spiritually blind people see no need to attend church and participate in the fellowship of believers, they believe that their being morally upright is enough to please God and guarantee them salvation in Christ. There is absence of prayer and Bible study in their lives. There is no willingness to do the will of God out of reverence and faithfulness to Him. 

There are Christians who merely attend church and as such remain spiritually blind although they may boast of being morally sighted. This again can be seen in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (Luke 18:10-12).  Certainly, the Pharisee was self-righteous and morally sighted but was spiritually blind! The tax collector became Spiritually sighted and therefore morally sighted when “He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13)

This brings us to our third and final point that Jesus is the remedy, healer and Chief Priest who has the gift of sight for all types of blindness. The question is, are you willing to see spiritually or you are comfortable with your type of blindness, be it physical or moral? Bartimaeus was not comfortable with his blindness therefore “he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48) Jesus hears our shout and passionate cry for healing and restoration that is why He said to Bartimaeus “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he(Bartimaeus) received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.” (Mark 10:52). Will you also follow Jesus after He has restored your sight or will you go back to your old way of life? Jesus is the only healer and High Priest who can make the blind see because “Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” (Hebrews 7:24-26) 

In conclusion beloved in the Lord, Jesus said in Matthew 15:14 that “If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” It is for this reason God is mindful of the blind and the marginalised.  Regardless of the type of blindness that one may suffer, Christ our healer and Chief Priest has the power to restore the sight of the blind and make the blind see physically, morally and spiritually. May the Power of the Holy Spirit restore our sight and may we continue to grow spiritually even as we do the will of God. Amen.