Psalm 146:8

Our God is gracious, compassionate, and loving. Who wouldn’t celebrate Someone who opens the eyes of the blind? Blindness comes in many forms, affecting us both physically and spiritually. There are also those who choose not to see, which is a form of blindness as well.

How do we actively choose not to see? Sometimes we become so locked into our own thinking that strongholds form in our minds, preventing us from seeing the truth. Nothing demonstrates this more clearly than John’s account of the healing of the man born blind. One man was healed of his blindness in multiple ways, while others refused to see at all.

“So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, ‘God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.’
‘I don’t know whether he is a sinner,’ the man replied. ‘But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!’
‘But what did he do?’ they asked. ‘How did he heal you?’
‘Look!’ the man exclaimed. ‘I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?’
Then they cursed him and said, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.’
‘Why, that’s very strange!’ the man replied. ‘He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.’
‘You were born a total sinner!’ they answered. ‘Are you trying to teach us?’ And they threw him out of the synagogue.”
—John 9:24–34 (NLT)

Typical! When they could no longer argue with the truth, they simply threw him out of the synagogue. Not only was this man healed physically, but spiritually as well. The Pharisees, however, faced a dilemma: the healing was a miracle from God accomplished through Jesus. To acknowledge this truth would require them to change—not only their thinking, but their ways. They are examples of those who refused to see.

Why was one of Jesus’ closing statements in His parables the following?

“He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing.”
—Matthew 13:9 (AMPC)

Mark elaborates further on Jesus’ words:

“Then he added, ‘Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.’”
—Mark 4:24–25 (NLT)

Did you know that we choose what we believe, and what we believe determines what we see? Jesus said these revealing words:

“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!”
—Matthew 6:23 (NLT)

Whatever our form of blindness is—and whenever we are honest enough to admit it—Jesus is always the answer.