Tag Archives: Christian living

How Blind Are You???

Having had eye surgeries, sight has become a very precious commodity. I find myself looking intently at stairwells as I ascend or descend to make sure that where I am putting my feet there is actually a step there. Eye sight is important. I take a test every year that measures the blind spot in my left eye to make sure it hasn’t grown. Good news this year–it’s shrunk just a tad! The doctor said it is probably the work of the medicines that I put into my eyes–three different ones every day.  Fun!
How much more important, however, is spiritual eye sight. How blind are you…to your spiritual well being? How blind are you to sin and do you then consequently see God’s amazing grace? How is your blind spot? Have you been tested recently? 

Here’s what I mean.  When a message is preached is there something inside that opens your eyes to the truth from God’s Word? No? Hmmm….

So many times we are thinking of other things. Things like, “This really applies to so and so;” or “You know? That is interesting;” or “What’s cooking for lunch this afternoon;” or “The music was really bad today…I don’t like that new song.”  Maybe you are simply day dreaming and not thinking of anything.  Beware: You may be blind and don’t even realize it.

Another idea for blindness could be simply ignoring God.  It could be insensitivity to the work of the Holy Spirit. This is often seen by someone who when confronted by a pastor/shepherd about a sin that is displayed, instead of running to repentance and faith in Christ they quickly try to deflect it by pointing out the deficiencies of the church. It most often is not a doctrinal deficiency but a personal preference they fear is violated. Blindness is revealed.

It could be that a hardness has set into your own heart that is simply pride. You will only see what you want to see!  It may very well be years and years of hiding or running from God and the light of His transforming truth.  The tragedy is that blindness is very devastating over time.  Marriages are crushed because one spouse is blind.  Families crumble because of blindness from a child or parent.  Businesses collapse because of a CEO that refuses to see.  Empires have vanished because of blind leadership.

It’s funny though, or sad, maybe, that spiritually sight-challenged people insist that they actually can see. Amazingly they run into brick walls over and over again yet they can get very upset if someone suggests to them they have a “sight issue.”  Relationships all around them are bleeding and torn yet they insist that they see fine.  They see what they want to see and consequently fail to see what really is.

The good news is that Jesus is light!  John calls Him the light of men (John 1:4).  The psalmist writes in Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”  How blind are you?  Really? How well do you see God? Be honest, where are your blind spots?

Run to Jesus!  Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

How Much Do You Actually Talk about Christ?

As a pastor, I often have opportunities to talk to people. I actually love that about my “job.” Because I am a pastor, I often talk to other pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders and believers from all walks of life. While in these conversations it is often puzzling to me how many followers of Jesus rarely talk about Him.
I see it on Facebook/Twitter as well. So much of life seems to be lived as if Jesus plays no part of our lives. Honestly, I am not saying that absolutely every conversation has to include Jesus, God, or some other Bible-connected word. Really! I love life like everyone else but if speaking of the person and work of Jesus rarely if ever comes up in conversations among proclaiming disciples of Jesus, I really do wonder how much we are even thinking of Jesus in every day life.
What should be the distinction of a “Christian?” What should be the definitive mark of a child of the living God? Christ–all He is and all He has done, right? That actually is what makes a “Christian” a “Christian,” I think. I believe this is true and I think that most believers would echo this sentiment.
However, it seems to be often the case that we just don’t talk about Him much. It may be as simple as we just don’t really think of Him much either. Take a brief tour of your Facebook News Feed and just see if you see what I see.
It may be no big deal in Facebook or Twitter, really, but it may give us just a hint why the passion and devotion to Christ in the church is as weak as it seems to be. I read an article discussing “Tebow-mania” and I like how he put it. He listed several reasons why he likes what “Tebow-mania” is doing right now. He also mentions his concerns.  You can read the whole article here. One of his concerns is:

“The Perception That Christianity Consists of Clichés. Walk into just about any Christian bookstore and you’ll quickly see that popular American evangelicalism loves clichés: pithy little slogans of feel-good spirituality. They are printed on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and motivational posters. They litter the pages of bestselling Christian books and are permanently etched into trinkets like key-chains and money clips. The roadside marquis of the average evangelical church contains new editions of these short little sayings every week — from messages like “Need a Faith Lift?” to “C H _ _ C H. What’s Missing? U R.”
I fear Tebow-Mania highlights this sappy side of mainstream evangelicalism more than it showcases the arresting truth of the biblical gospel. When discussing the Tebow phenomenon, media outlets often talk about faith in a cheesy “just-believe-in-yourself-and-make-your-dreams-come-true” kind of way. Numerous pundits have suggested that the Broncos’ sudden success should be made into a movie. One article joked that, if it were a screen play, the Tebow story would be too sentimental even for Disney.”

I get what he is saying. If we talk at all about “Christianity,” Jesus Himself–all that He is and all that He has done–is often missing.  Sad. So, today, speak to someone of Jesus. Go ahead…He’s God!