Besides spiritual blindness, I wonder if even as Christians, we also suffer from spiritual nearsightedness and spiritual farsightedness. Sometimes we focus clearly on things that are out of our sphere of influence and while we see them clearly, we are unable to do anything about them. And other times, we focus on things so close to us that even though we can do something about them, they don't really help anyone but ourselves and maybe our family. I think we need to seek 20-20 spiritual vision so that we can clearly see what God wants us to see and see it clearly, which allows us to do His work and follow His commands most effectively.
Mike i love this thought! And I agree. Spiritual blindness is one thing, but what do we do with the sight we are given. And how can we work towards 20/20 vision. I am going to keep that nugget moving forward.
I'm not sure how many read my comments, or if what I say is valid, or even if it makes sense. But the reason I comment frequently is because when I listen to the speaker and read the passage, I want to learn something. Committing to a written response for all to see FORCES me to give the message some serious thought and spend some time deciding what it means, and then allowing myself to be vulnerable in exposing my thoughts. I think this process is a great way to learn. Even better would be if others would engage in conversation....agreeing, disagreeing, adding to.....whatever. If you're reading the comments here, I highly encourage you to participate. Adrian and others are giving us a great opportunity to share and learn. And I find it to be fun as well.
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
Thank you, Trish. I'm humbled. And I really appreciate Pastor Adrian's giving others, like you, the opportunity to do the video and give their interpretation. You do a great job of it!
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
Mike, I learn so much from what you say and actually if i am being honest, look to see what you will share each day. So THANK YOU for commenting, pushing us to think, and encouraging us to comment even if we are unsure or have a different point of view.
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
Thank you, Trish. I'm humbled. And I really appreciate Pastor Adrian's giving others, like you, the opportunity to do the video and give their interpretation. You do a great job of it!
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
What I find fascinating is that more than once Jesus performed signs and miracles for the pharisees to witness. Yet, instead of being amazed by them and glorifying God they completely miss the boat and get caught up in the law. Judging him for healing a person on the sabbath. This story in particular shows me that spiritual blindness is a choice. We have a choice on a daily basis to have spiritual insight or be blind and unaware of the reality of what God is doing all around us.
Trish,
Thank you for your thoughts today. For me, the biggest spiritual blindness that I have is towards my sin and shortcomings. I so easily can go into full blown "Pharisee mode" and point it out in others but when it comes to my own junk. I either ignore it, justify it or rationalize it away. It's terrible. It reminds of Jesus when he said, you can see the speck in your brothers eye but you are blind to the log in your own eye (Matthew 7:1-5)
Jesus actually cause these people "hypocrites." yikes!! "God please expose the areas that I'm spiritually blind in and help me deal with them accordingly... amen!!"
Adrian, I relate very closely to what you say here! I'm an expert at helping others see where they fall short. Time to start asking God to reveal more of that in myself! Choosing spiritual sight and accepting what I see.
10 Comments
Besides spiritual blindness, I wonder if even as Christians, we also suffer from spiritual nearsightedness and spiritual farsightedness. Sometimes we focus clearly on things that are out of our sphere of influence and while we see them clearly, we are unable to do anything about them. And other times, we focus on things so close to us that even though we can do something about them, they don't really help anyone but ourselves and maybe our family. I think we need to seek 20-20 spiritual vision so that we can clearly see what God wants us to see and see it clearly, which allows us to do His work and follow His commands most effectively.
Mike i love this thought! And I agree. Spiritual blindness is one thing, but what do we do with the sight we are given. And how can we work towards 20/20 vision. I am going to keep that nugget moving forward.
I'm not sure how many read my comments, or if what I say is valid, or even if it makes sense. But the reason I comment frequently is because when I listen to the speaker and read the passage, I want to learn something. Committing to a written response for all to see FORCES me to give the message some serious thought and spend some time deciding what it means, and then allowing myself to be vulnerable in exposing my thoughts. I think this process is a great way to learn. Even better would be if others would engage in conversation....agreeing, disagreeing, adding to.....whatever. If you're reading the comments here, I highly encourage you to participate. Adrian and others are giving us a great opportunity to share and learn. And I find it to be fun as well.
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
Thank you, Trish. I'm humbled. And I really appreciate Pastor Adrian's giving others, like you, the opportunity to do the video and give their interpretation. You do a great job of it!
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
Mike, I learn so much from what you say and actually if i am being honest, look to see what you will share each day. So THANK YOU for commenting, pushing us to think, and encouraging us to comment even if we are unsure or have a different point of view.
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
Thank you, Trish. I'm humbled. And I really appreciate Pastor Adrian's giving others, like you, the opportunity to do the video and give their interpretation. You do a great job of it!
Mike,
Please continue to comment as I am tremendously blessed by your insights. Like you, these devotionals force me to really read with intentionality the biblical text, and to really think through my thoughts. I too wish more people would participate in the comments but hopefully people are at minimum are reading. Thank you for your thoughtful participation.
Great message Trish!
What I find fascinating is that more than once Jesus performed signs and miracles for the pharisees to witness. Yet, instead of being amazed by them and glorifying God they completely miss the boat and get caught up in the law. Judging him for healing a person on the sabbath. This story in particular shows me that spiritual blindness is a choice. We have a choice on a daily basis to have spiritual insight or be blind and unaware of the reality of what God is doing all around us.
Yes! A choice - you are right. And thinking about it, it's hard to imagine why we'd choose blindness over full sight, yet we do.
Trish,
Thank you for your thoughts today. For me, the biggest spiritual blindness that I have is towards my sin and shortcomings. I so easily can go into full blown "Pharisee mode" and point it out in others but when it comes to my own junk. I either ignore it, justify it or rationalize it away. It's terrible. It reminds of Jesus when he said, you can see the speck in your brothers eye but you are blind to the log in your own eye (Matthew 7:1-5)
Jesus actually cause these people "hypocrites." yikes!! "God please expose the areas that I'm spiritually blind in and help me deal with them accordingly... amen!!"
Adrian, I relate very closely to what you say here! I'm an expert at helping others see where they fall short. Time to start asking God to reveal more of that in myself! Choosing spiritual sight and accepting what I see.