I take my eyesight for granted, until I find myself squinting at the text of a book printed in a tiny font. The problem is that a few years ago those words were not tiny at all, and I read the same book with ease. My favorite wonder of this age is the Kindle reader, which allows me to resize the font of any book I’m reading as big as I want. Thank you technology.

Many of us live with poor eyesight, and even the apostle Paul suffered in this way. But I cannot imagine a life of blindness. Jesus once healed a blind man on a Sabbath day. The Pharisees got wind of this miracle and brought the man in for questioning. After grilling him and his parents and accusing Jesus of violating Sabbath laws, the man simply responded, Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.

The man was blind from birth. As an adult he finally experienced the brilliant world around him through his eyes, restored to 20/20 vision. He exulted in these new powers. He told everyone, including a tribunal of religious leaders.

Though I was blind, now I see. The man pointed to Jesus. His argument involved no deep revelations from the Hebrew scriptures, philosophical insights, or profound comments on the nature of man. Rather, he spoke of the One who saved him body and soul.

I was blind, now I see. Still a good answer for anyone who questions why you follow Jesus.

John 9:25

Photo by Wesley Tingey

We live in a world of competing truths. I hear people casually refer to their personal version of truth, saying things like, that’s true for you but not for me. Such a vapid sentiment might apply to preferred ice cream flavors, but when it comes to truth to set your life by, mushy ideas fall flat.

Jesus spoke a great deal about truth. Here’s an example: Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Some Christians center on the words of Jesus, printed in red in many Bibles. They push the writings of the apostles and the Old Testament to a lower tier. Focusing particularly on the teachings of Jesus will certainly change your life. But Jesus himself referred to the prophets and embraced the full orb of the Scriptures. Why cheat yourself? Take in the red and black words together and enjoy the mix.

The truth will set you free. If I read and ponder and wrestle with the text under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I discover a path to truth. When I practice these teachings in my daily life, among actual people and real situations, Jesus’ concepts emerge to set me free from the expectations and empty promises of this world.

One truth, one way, one life. It’s beautiful, creative and sustaining, and it’s found only in and through Jesus Christ.

John 8:31-32

Photo by Susan Holt Simpson

Angered at the ongoing rejection of his gifts and the refusal to heed his prophets, God handed the people of Israel over to invaders. Not benevolent occupiers, but the worst of the worst.

I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy.

God delivered Israel to abhorrent men. In rejecting the One who delivered them from Egypt, they opened the door to savage, vicious, accomplished masters of destruction. Orcs overwhelmed the land.

The people of Israel earned this retribution as they continually rejected God year after year. By burning their children alive to appease demons in the guise of gods, they exhibited brutal behavior of their own. These people destroyed a culture based on the law of God. They grew cruel and hostile long before the invasion. The people of Israel sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind.

How is our culture any different?

Not that we live in a theocratic era, but if we sow savage behaviors will we not reap a similar whirlwind of destruction? Do we not also destroy children on the alters of expediency and convenience? If history is our guide, a storm will eventually appear.

I cannot snap my fingers and change the world. But I can sow to the ways of the Lord. I can attempt to love my neighbor as myself, including children both born and unborn. In so doing I stave off the brutish and destructive a little longer, and help others discover the grace and mercy of our amazing God.

Ezekiel 21:31

Photo by Jade Koroliuk

One of the amazing feats of our modern medical establishment involves transplanting organs from one person to another. The first successful heart transplant took place in 1967. Today surgeons perform around 5,000 heart transplants every year. Include all organ transplants (kidney, liver, lungs and pancreas) and the list approaches 50,000. We live in a favored age.

God spoke to the people of Israel and urged them to undergo a transplant. Having pursued other gods, even to the point of burning their children alive as sacrifices, these Hebrews possessed hearts clogged with evil and massed with the scar tissue of self-indulgence. For years they flipped the Lord their middle finger. Yet God invited them back.

Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

The Lord urged his people to return to him again and again. God takes no joy in the demise of anyone. He wants all to turn to him in repentance. Despite their heinous acts, the Lord extended the invitation to turn and find life.

It’s never too late. Even the worst of us (and we all fit into that category at one time or another) can humbly approach the Lord and receive a new spirit and a new heart.

Ezekiel 18:31-32

Photo by Bekky Bekks