As we continue to look at the results of sin, this week I want to look at the spiritual blindness that sin produces.

We all know that physical blindness means being in darkness and so not being able to see where you are going, but the Bible also speaks of a spiritual blindness. People who sin show that they are blind and walking around in darkness: ‘Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed’ (John 3:20). This blindness means that they do not understand Jesus and his teachings. The apostle Paul says: ‘The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). It is as though sinful people have a physical barrier between them and Jesus. Therefore they cannot comprehend his warnings that the way they are going is straight to hell. So they blindly continue walking along the path that leads to their destruction.

How then does a sinful blind person begin to see clearly again? Well they need someone outside themselves to come and help them. Just as a physically blind person needs a doctor with vision to transplant functional eyes into their head, the spiritually blind need someone who has vision to come and give them sight. However that means no-one in the human race can help the spiritually blind, because everyone has sinned and is spiritually blind. No one can help themselves, let alone someone else.

But there was one person who never sinned and so was never blind – Jesus Christ. He is the eye doctor qualified to heal the blind and loves to do so: ‘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). If you come to Jesus and repent of your sins and ask him to cleanse you from your sins and blindness, he will.

Then those who follow Jesus can see and can actually be used by God to open other people’s eyes as well. Paul is told by Jesus that he is being sent to the Gentiles ‘to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light’ (Acts 26:18). Christians point people to the great eye doctor and so are helping heal the blind when people respond to Jesus.

Are you still blinded by sin? Or have you had your eyes opened and now are being used by God to open the eyes of others?

Joel Radford