I have begun a simple Bible study with some friends. Each week, we look up selected verses. Some are reading God’s Word for the first time. Others dig a little deeper and study everything from the Greek meaning to the vast commentaries on the subject. Me? I guess I seek to apply the verses to my own life. The passage that stirred me in this week’s reading was 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” I guess because my mother was physically blind this stands out to me.
Blindness is the result of some abnormality, disease, or external force. It causes stumbling, confusion, and loss of freedom. It affects more than the victim. Blinded minds are much the same. The ability God has given to see the truth is marred by the disease of sin, resulting in stumbling, confusion, and loss of freedom. We see this in our world as lost people think they are truly living yet are so turned around they don’t realize they are in a place of destruction. Just as it was pitiful to find my mother in the corner of a room convinced she was headed down the hall, the plight of the lost grips me. It should if I care about the blind and the innocent bystanders who are affected by sin’s influence.
When I think about it, I can see Satan continues with his same ploys even after someone is a believer. In my life, he’s tried to block out the light of God’s truth with the sin of a “beam” of judgement, a disease of temptation, or even a solid punch in the eye when I’ve pulled my shield of faith out of the way. Thankfully, through the Spirit, I don’t have to stay blind! Like the song Amazing Grace declares, “I once was blind, but now I see!”
Tip/Tidbit: Ponder this question: Do you feel like you are standing in the light of God’s truth, or do you feel disconnected from the Gospel? In light of the New Year and the promise of a fresh start, are there areas in which you need to surrender more fully to God (loving or giving more generously), areas in which you need to remove yourself from the enemy’s influence (a temptation you need to deny, a wrong attitude to release, a person to forgive? Let’s begin 2016 without the hindrances of yesteryear.
*The Bible study passages my friends and I are exploring are posted weekly at http://www.rachelwindham.com/bible-study-lessons.html
Blindness is the result of some abnormality, disease, or external force. It causes stumbling, confusion, and loss of freedom. It affects more than the victim. Blinded minds are much the same. The ability God has given to see the truth is marred by the disease of sin, resulting in stumbling, confusion, and loss of freedom. We see this in our world as lost people think they are truly living yet are so turned around they don’t realize they are in a place of destruction. Just as it was pitiful to find my mother in the corner of a room convinced she was headed down the hall, the plight of the lost grips me. It should if I care about the blind and the innocent bystanders who are affected by sin’s influence.
When I think about it, I can see Satan continues with his same ploys even after someone is a believer. In my life, he’s tried to block out the light of God’s truth with the sin of a “beam” of judgement, a disease of temptation, or even a solid punch in the eye when I’ve pulled my shield of faith out of the way. Thankfully, through the Spirit, I don’t have to stay blind! Like the song Amazing Grace declares, “I once was blind, but now I see!”
Tip/Tidbit: Ponder this question: Do you feel like you are standing in the light of God’s truth, or do you feel disconnected from the Gospel? In light of the New Year and the promise of a fresh start, are there areas in which you need to surrender more fully to God (loving or giving more generously), areas in which you need to remove yourself from the enemy’s influence (a temptation you need to deny, a wrong attitude to release, a person to forgive? Let’s begin 2016 without the hindrances of yesteryear.
*The Bible study passages my friends and I are exploring are posted weekly at http://www.rachelwindham.com/bible-study-lessons.html
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