Blindness is a trait touched upon in the Gospels. Christ restored sight to the physically blind with his touch, and his physical healing was also a symbol of restoring sight to the spiritually blind.
And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent; but they cried out the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And Jesus stopped and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.—Matthew 20:29-34 (RSV2CE)
I used to be so spiritually blind, trying to do some vague notion of “good” but I was allowing myself to define “good” and not following God’s definition of “good.” Christ has restored my sight, and now I pursue his Light , not by my own strength, but by his strength granted to me by my “yes” to his will.
While blind guides may see Christians as flies attracted mindlessly to a light, humans are not flies but rational beings made in the likeness and the image of God, beings who can make a very deliberate decision to either pursue the true light or to pursue false lights. As we follow Christ throughout life, there will always be demons trying to whisper directly to us or through others—through any crack in our soul or in the souls of others—to convince us to do otherwise.
Christ himself was constantly challenged by Pharisees, such as when he healed a blind man possessed by a demon:
Then a blind and mute demoniac was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it they said, “It is only by Be-el’zebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand; and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?—Matthew 12:22-26 (RSV2CE)
May we pray for wisdom to discern the true Light and for perseverance to chase it now through the hour of our death, despite any adversity that may dare us to do otherwise.
