Physical blind spots are a problem, because what we don’t see can hurt us.
Mental blind spots are a problem because what we don’t know can hurt us.
But by far the most dangerous blind spot of them all are our spiritual blind spots.
“22 Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is. (Matt. 6:22-23) [NLT]
We have to answer this question first.
“But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15) [NLT]
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” (Matt. 6:14) [NLT]
What do you say about this man, Jesus?
Saul treated Jesus as an enemy.
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. (Acts 9:1 emphasis added) [NLT]
Only the light of Jesus can cure spiritual blind spots.
The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.” (Acts 9:11 emphasis added) [NLT]
Why did Jesus remove Saul’s spiritual blind spot?
15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16 emphasis added) [NLT]
God had a plan for Saul’s life.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28) [NLT]
“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29) [NLT]
God wasn’t punishing Saul, he was changing him into the likeness of Jesus.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8he humbled himself obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8) [NLT]
Why does He offer to save us?
So that we can be part of His plan to remove the spiritual blind spots from others.
“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12) [NLT]
What does it mean to be the light of the world?
6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 7We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) [NLT]
When we suffer, others can see the light of Christ in our lives.
Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:10) [NLT]
With our spiritual blind spots removed, we can fix our eyes on something other than the world around us.
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:18) [NLT]