One Simple Truth - Day 6: Blindness means something.
- araratchurch
- Jul 24, 2024
- 3 min read
““Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.”
Revelation 3:14-19 NLT
There is a saying that goes, “There is none so blind as he who will not see.” The meaning here is that the one who has been given the opportunity to see the truth, but will not accept that truth, has blinded themselves.
Indeed, our Lord addressed this concept when His disciples asked Him why He spoke in parables.
“His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”
Matthew 13:10-16 NLT
Again, when people are given the opportunity to see the truth, and choose not to see it, they become blinded.
The parable Jesus had given before the disciples asked their question, was that of the sower. In this parable we see that the state of the soil (referencing the human heart), determined the viability of the seed (His word).
The parable of the sower illustrates the different degrees and causes of hardness of heart, ultimately showing that if the Word will not be received and protected, it will not grow.
In our opening scripture we see Jesus, speaking to John on the Isle of Patmos, referencing the church at Laodicea. We see that Jesus notes that they are blind to their actual condition.
Now, they have not been blinded by forces beyond their control, but have—because of their lukewarm spiritual state—become blind to their actual condition.
We may wonder why someone cannot see what we see. Perhaps we can see that their life is headed in the direction of destruction, yet they don’t seem to see what is obvious to us. How are they missing what we see clearly?
Child of God, “blindness” means something. When a person has become self-blinded, you can try to reason with them all you want. Indeed, knock yourself out if you’re so inclined. But given the scenario of dealing with someone who is spiritually blind, we should understand that only the Lord can open their eyes to their potentially desperate situation. Our part is to pray that their eyes will be opened while also asking the Lord if there is anything He wants us to say or do to encourage them in that process. Arguing with someone who is blind about what they are not seeing, is generally a waste of time.
Obviously, we are not here advocating that a person not be warned who is in immediate danger. We are speaking of spiritual blindness wherein a person has been given the opportunity to see the truth, but has chosen to be blind.
Finally, our first order of business should be to make sure that we are not the one who will not see.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
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