Seeing and Believing

All I know is that this man opened my eyes, and now I can see.

Not only the blind man in the Temple in Jerusalem, but all of us who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit can and do say these words.  Going from spiritual blindness to the Light of the World, the face of Jesus, and the words of Scripture is exactly like going from darkness into light.  At first, we don't see what is plainly in front of us, and then, suddenly, we see!

C.S. Lewis tells the story of his own sudden conversion; when he got into the side car of his brother's motorcycle one day, he was a confirmed atheist.  By the time they had reached their destination, he was a believer!  How does such a thing happen, except by the miraculous grace of God? 

A woman once told about a trip she and her husband took to see the Matterhorn in Switzerland.  Eagerly, once they were in their hotel room, she ran to the window to gaze at the legendary summit.  But when she drew back the curtain, she saw only the foothills and clouds.  "Where is it?" she asked her husband, who had seen the Matterhorn on a previous trip.  "It's right there!" he said; "you just can't see it right now."   She was doubtful, as it appeared to her that she was seeing everything that was there, and yet she saw nothing remarkable.  For the next 3 days, the clouds covered the Matterhorn, and she saw only the foothills.  On the 4th day, as she opened the curtains, the most magnificent and breath-taking sight greeted her in the majesty of the Matterhorn.  All the while, it had been there, but obscured from her sight.  And then, suddenly, she could see it!  This, she said, is how the Gospel looks to the unbeliever---shrouded, imperceptible.  But once our eyes are opened, its majesty reveals itself to us.

At one time in my life, I could not read Scripture at all; it held no appeal for me.  And then one day, after a young girl had prayed for me to receive the Holy Spirit, the words of Scripture came alive!  A light shone from them and on them, and that light was more beautiful than anything my eyes had ever beheld!  The words were food and drink to my hungry and thirsty soul, and I could not take them in fast enough. 

Before then, I could not see God at work in my life, and suddenly, I saw His Presence everywhere---it was before me as the Matterhorn mountain!  I began to see the power of His grace at work in every moment of my life.

Before that time, I had no hope, but only fear, for the future.  And then, He became my future, my anchor, my hope, my trust: All is well and all shall be well.  God became my rock and my security:  "the man who fears God fears nothing else; the one who does not fear God fears everything else."

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into the world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" (Jn. 9:39).

If we say that we see, but do not say that it is Jesus who opened our eyes, we are still blind and do not know it.