Peering through the Darkness
When I was growing up, one of the darkest places in my house was a windowless, first-floor bathroom. If I wanted to test the luminescence of a glow-stick, that was the best place to do it. If I wanted a hiding place in deep shadows, the bathroom was one of the ideal places to conceal myself. Because when the door was closed, the room became totally dark. True sight basically became impossible.
And I expect that you’ve had similar encounters with dark places, as well. In such utter blackness, you can’t see your hand when it’s inches in front of your face. Depth perception is lost. Colors can’t be sensed. Of course, the reason for this isn’t that your eyes unexpectedly stopped functioning. In fact, you may be fully conscious of your eyes’ ongoing gaze into the gloom. But the reason why your eyes are unable to see is because of the absence of light.
The Need for Light
This gives helpful insight into what’s needed in order for us to see things spiritually. The Bible often uses the metaphor of physical eyesight to describe spiritual perception (cf. Mark 8:18, John 9:39). And this repeated analogy points out what we need in order to rightly “see” spiritual truths. Of course, we need eyes. We need special faculties, as image-bearers, to behold God. The problem is that human nature has long been corrupted by sin, and we’ve been rendered blind. 2 Corinthians 4:4 confirms that Satan “has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” The sinful pride of the Pharisees is what made them “blind guides” (Matthew 15:14) who were unable to see the worth of Christ. Not only are eyes needed for sight – but we need freedom from sin and the functioning of our eyes to be restored by God’s saving grace if we are to see.
Even beyond the need for healthy eyes, though, there’s something else we need in order to see. We need light from God. Regardless of how healthy your eyes might be, they can’t bring light to a room. They can’t envision anything independently of light. But you and I have eyes that are dependent on the presence of light in order for us to truly see.
And of course, the one we need to provide that light is God himself. Psalm 27:1 – “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” And consider Jesus’s words in John 8:12, when he says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” We need both opened eyes and a dependence on God’s light in order to have sight (cf. Acts 26:18).
Aim for True Sight
Clarifying the nature of true sight serves as an important, ongoing reminder for Christians today, for a number of different reasons. For one thing, it guards us from pride. Though a Christian’s eyes may be regenerated and restored by virtue of his conversion, he is still needy for the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. The flame of the Spirit, burning from the lamp of God’s Word, is what enables us to perceive the right paths for our feet (cf. Psalm 119:105).
But underscoring our dependence on God’s light also guards us from making too much of our human experiences. Just consider – if you were sitting in the darkness, trying to identify the colors of objects around you, what would you see? Nothing but blackness. From the perspective of your own experience, you would be severely impaired in your discernment. In the absence of light, your senses would constrain you to think that red, indigo, and forest green objects must be black.
And in this way, there are sometimes Christians who look at life circumstances, and they can see nothing but hopelessness. They only see the blackness of despair, because they are relying on their eyes alone, instead of looking upon their circumstances with the illuminating light of God’s truth. We do not need to live in darkness. Because we have a God who delights to make his face shine upon his people (cf. Numbers 6:24-26).
We can (and should!) thank God for the gift of spiritual sight and pray for his ongoing light to us and to others. Just as physical sight is not something we achieved or earned, but is a gift from God, in the same way those who can see have no grounds for boasting. Instead, any true sight we have is just greater occasion for us to worship God for his kindness to us, and to work hard for the spreading of God’s light around the world. Let’s be wary that we never try to move past our reliance on His Spirit, but that we make it our daily aim to walk in the light as he is in the light, as those who see his will for us.
Devon Rossman (MS, MDiv) is Lead Pastor of Fellowship Reformed Church in Mt Pleasant, MI.
