Chris' Corner -- Sunday, April 10, 2022
Randy and I were roommates for a year while we attended the Florida School of Preaching. Randy is blind.
Watching him type braille on his six-key braille typewriter was fascinating. It was even more amazing to see him scan his notes with his super-sensitive fingers and read without missing a beat. He preached several times for the local congregation. They owned the house where we lived. I have a greater appreciation for my sight because of Randy. How often do we take our eyes for granted?
I convinced Randy to let me teach him how to get to the post office and back. It was just a few blocks around the corner. We ventured out at night when the traffic was lighter. We practiced the route many times. He went on some dry runs without my help, but I was not far away. It wasn’t long before he was making the trip by himself.
For seeing people, it is hard to imagine going through life always in the dark. We would become disoriented and confused often, wondering which direction to go. The simplest tasks for those with sight would be monumental for the blind. Safety concerns would be so much greater for those who cannot see.
Blind or seeing, everyone has a soul. We all need spiritual guidance. Without God, we would be in darkness without knowing which way to go. The prophet said, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).
We find out from God’s Word about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
John tells us that Jesus Christ is “the Word,” and “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1, 4). While He was on this earth Jesus said ““A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light” (John 12:35, 36a).
Becoming the sons of light occurs when we believe and obey the gospel. Without Jesus and the Gospel, we would go through this life lost in spiritual darkness without any guiding light at all.
Back to John chapter one, read verses four through fourteen. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”
We cannot walk securely and confidently without light. We are grateful for a loving God who provides light for our journey. “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
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