1 John 2:9-11
I
can only imagine what being blind is like. It certainly would be isolating. The
darkness would close in, especially if the blindness came later in life. The
simplest things would become dangerous. Walking around the house becomes as
obstacle course with sharp objects and multiple tripping points. You can’t just
go for a walk in the neighborhood by yourself, at least not to begin with.
Carrying out the easy, taken for granted tasks would have to be relearned.
Getting dressed in a color coordinated outfit requires the help of a sighted
person.
Driving
a car is out of the question. Looking into the face of your children and
grandchildren becomes just a pipedream. Watching a movie turns into listening
to sound effects. Next time you watch a movie, close your eyes for a minute and
see if you can keep up with what is happening. It’s a very different
experience!
Imagine
trying to navigate life without an internal compass of right and wrong. Or not
understanding social clues like a smile or a frown. Or looking at a road sign
and not knowing what it means. Or looking at a menu in a restaurant and not
being able to read the words. These could be just as difficult to adjust to as
physical blindness. And yet some people endure these brain handicaps every day.
John
tells us that people who don’t love fellow believers and yet claim to be
Jesus-followers, are blind. They walk aimlessly in life. They don’t have a
definite direction, and they certainly have no way of orienting themselves in
the spiritual world. There are many things over which they could stumble. Just
as a physically blind person has no way of knowing the dangers that lay ahead, so
it is with those who don’t love. There are obstacles that are clearly visible
to those who do love, but which are unseen to someone who doesn’t love. They
are plain as day to obedient people, but hidden in the open to those who don’t
love. Obedience gives sight.
I
am sure that physically blind people adapt. They learn to cope with their lack
of sight. The develop ways of navigating the world that we don’t understand. I
had a professor at college, a music teacher, he was blind. He would slap his
feet against the sidewalk as he walked. He used the sound bouncing off the
buildings as a way to know where he was. He rode a three wheeled bicycle and
used the same types of echo location tricks to stay on course.
But
his navigation was not the same as a sighted person’s. You could see right away
that he was blind by the way he moved about the physical world. His movements
were awkward and halting. He often bumped into those unseen things. He was a phenomenal
organist and pianist, but even his conducting was awkward. His movements weren’t
smooth and flowing.
So
it is, John writes, that those who are disobedient are spiritually blind. Because
they refuse to come into the light that obedience brings, their spiritual world
is filled with obstacles that they fail to see. Their spiritual walk is awkward
and halting. Those who watch from the sidelines can see something is wrong.
They miss the obvious things right at their feet. They move right toward danger
without the slightest hesitation. And they won’t believe the warnings that
others give them.
Sound
like some of the people you know? They rush headlong into trouble, again and
again. They don’t seem to learn from their mistakes. They can’t even learn from
other’s mistakes. I hope you aren’t like this!