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| At the Cross--The Burden of my sin rolled away. |
where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
The Bible uses examples of blind people receiving their sight in order to teach us how God can heal our "spiritual blindness." John's gospel, Chapter 9, is an excellent story of the man who was blind since birth, and whom Jesus healed so that he could see the world for the first time. Then, it tells how the man received his "spiritual eyesight" when he realized Who Jesus really was. Here is part of the conversation between JESUS and “the MAN” born blind:
JESUS: "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
MAN: "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"
JESUS: "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you."
MAN: "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him.
Notice that the man's experience was just as the hymn-writer recorded, “by faith I received my sight.”
Most people have what is considered "normal vision." However, according to Looking Glass Optical, people who have Color Vision Deficiency (CVD) "may go through their lives not quite understanding the perception of color. While they may be able to distinguish an array of shades, they will not be able to see specific colors." Likewise, from God's perspective, human beings are spiritually blind until they are individually transformed by the power of His Spirit (Read 2 Corinthians 4: 3-6). Like many who have CVD, their view of reality is diminished and they don't even realize it.
Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, "If you were blind [to spiritual things], you would have no sin [and would not be blamed for your unbelief]; but since you claim to have [spiritual] sight, [you have no excuse so] your sin and guilt remain (John 9:41 Amplified Bible). Just as it is possible to be "spiritually blind" and not realize what it means to have the joy and peace of God in their lives, many who have CVD do not realize what they are missing in life.
Interestingly, Looking Glass Optical has now developed EnChroma glasses which have specialized lenses that filter out specific colors based on computer simulation"models that simulate colors and the extent of color vision deficiency." The result--people with CVD can experience color in a new way using these glasses.
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| Noll Stafford and family when his color vision was restored. |
Perhaps you have seen the YouTube video of the 66-year-old Lakeland, Florida man, Noll Stafford, who recently received EnChroma glasses so he could see color for the first time. Seeing the glorious colors of the world around him was overwhelming to him and he could only weep for joy.
This Easter, many will receive their "spiritual sight" and see Jesus for Who He is for the first time--the Lamb Who took our punishment for sin, and then rose from the dead to give us joy, peace, and Everlasting Life, beginning now. Like the blind man of John 9, some see Jesus as only a good man who does nice things like healing people. After awhile, the man began to realize that Jesus was a great prophet (John 9:17). But, eventually as the man’s conversation with Jesus above records, he came to “see” Jesus as his Lord and Savior (John 9: 35-38). Jesus had given the man not only his “physical eyesight” but his “spiritual eyesight.” His life would never by the same; and, neither is ours when we personally meet Jesus.
How About You? Maybe you would like to know more about how Jesus restores “spiritual eyesight.” God’s “Good News” is summarized in a simple outline called “Steps to Peace with God” which explains God’s love, our predicament (sin and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our predicament, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a Holy God). If you have additional questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you. Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@cedarville.edu
