Seeing the light

Jesus…said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).

Rose Crawford had been born blind. "I just can’t believe it," she gasped, after undergoing delicate surgery in an Ontario hospital at age 50. For the first time in her life, she saw a beautiful world of form and color.

Here is the sad part of her story: the last 20 years of her blindness had been unnecessary. The surgical techniques used on her could have given her vision back when she was 30; the type of operation she eventually underwent had already been perfected by that point in her life. The doctor said, "She just figured there was nothing that could be done about her condition."

Why did Rose spend 20 years assuming that her situation was hopeless? Perhaps she had stopped seeking a remedy because she had given up hope, or maybe those who knew of the operation just never told her about it. Regardless of the reason, Rose spent 20 years unnecessarily deprived of living in the light.

Millions of people walk in darkness unnecessarily. The darkness they walk in is not the result of unseeing eyes, but of unseeing souls. Unable to perceive God, they are constantly at risk of stumbling into sin. Sin is a danger to the soul that cannot be seen for what it is without the light of God’s truth revealing it’s poisonous barbs.

Why do people continue to grope through the dangers of spiritual darkness? Two reasons. Some have quit searching for escape from their darkness, assuming that their situation is hopeless. To those of you who have given up the search for answers, I say: "don’t give up!" Whatever your problem is, God has the solution. Don’t live 20 years or even 20 minutes in spiritual blindness—not when God can show you what you’ve been looking for.

Others stumble in spiritual darkness because no one has shared the light of Christ with them. Yet we know that the LORD gives sight to the blind; Jesus…said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." It is up to we who live in this light to share it with those who do not.