Open Your Eyes
Jesus said, “For
judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who
see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees who were with him heard
him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, “If
you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can
see, your guilt remains.”
– John 9:39-41
Does it ever occur to any of us that we could be
wrong? Do we ever seek the Bible’s wisdom for what it truly says rather than
searching for words that will “prove” what we already believe? What would
happen if we truly followed Jesus rather than picking and choosing the parts of
Him that feel comfortably in line with ourselves?
Jesus didn’t come to conform to our “wisdom.” He came
to save us from ourselves, from the sins that fill us, from the hardness of our
hearts. But He left us with a choice. We can choose to follow Jesus or ourselves.
There is no room on His path for both of us.
We are quick to point out that the Bible condemns
homosexuality. We aren’t so quick to say that it also condemns divorce. Why
would we? In our country, an estimated 40-50 percent of all couples will
divorce. We don’t want to condemn ourselves so we choose to ignore what the
Bible really says.
We are quick to condemn abortion as murder. We don’t want
to support the child. That’s someone else’s responsibility. We don’t want to
welcome those who are cast aside for their mistakes. We want them to pay again
and again under our condemning eyes.
Obviously, abortion is wrong. So is casting aside an
unwed mother. Remember: Mary was an unwed mother too. Before she and Joseph
married. Before anyone understood about the Holy Spirit and the Messiah, she
was a teenager with a growing belly in a world that would have destroyed her
for her “sin.”
We cling tightly to our money, refusing to share or
tithe as we should. We ignore what the Bible says about money – and it says a
great deal about money – choosing instead to “believe” that everyone must support
themselves. It is ours, we insist. Others aren’t worthy, we explain. Except the
Bible doesn’t talk too much about worthy or ownership. It talks about gifts from
God and sharing our blessings. Judgment isn’t ours to dispense, even when it
comes to the money God has graciously given to us.
Oh, and let’s not forget the immigrants. We don’t want
them. Period. We may expound our beliefs and justify ourselves but it’s just
not biblical. The Bible tells us to welcome the foreigner because we once were
foreigners. We are to extend kindness and compassion. But we hold what is ours
tightly and refuse to show mercy.
There is no easy walk in our world today. It’s like a
tightrope that keeps moving except, well, it doesn’t. The Bible is full of words
that contradiction what we believe and what we say we believe. It’s impossible
to truly love Jesus and stand only for some of what He says and ignore the
rest.
Are we blind? Absolutely. But our blindness is a
choice. We have the answers before us but we choose to ignore their truth
because it’s uncomfortable and it just might cost us something we hold dear.
Our money. Yes, it might cost us our money. It might force us to show kindness
to people we don’t like. It might ask us to welcome people who aren’t like us
so that we can show them that Jesus loves everyone and welcomes them into His
arms.
Open your eyes. See your sin. Make your choice.
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