Readings for today: 2 Kings 23-25, 1 Chronicles 1-2, John 7:1-52
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
Those words always run through my head when we read about the final days of the Kingdom of Judah and the end of Zedekiah. It’s a pretty gory picture. The King of Babylon captures him as he tries to escape the destruction of Jerusalem. Makes him watch while he slaughters his sons and then puts out his eyes. It’s that last detail that I find myself pondering yet again. It’s just a painful reminder of how utterly broken Zedekiah had become. I also wonder if there wasn’t something more symbolic at work as well. After all, Zedekiah had been spiritually blind for years. He reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem but did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not honor God. He did not walk in God’s ways or according to God’s commands. He disdained the Word of the Lord and rejected the worship of the Lord. So perhaps his physical blindness is simply the logical consequence of his spiritual blindness and that’s why it’s mentioned more than once in Scripture. (See Jeremiah 39 and 52)
I remember my own spiritual blindness. I was raised in the church. My parents were faithful to take me to worship every Sunday. I sang in the choir. I hung out at youth group. By all outward appearances, I was incredibly engaged. However, my heart was hard. Selfish. Locked in sin. I was blinded by my own desires. My own fears. My own doubts. I could not see God. Could not hear God. Did not want to follow God. This was all exposed my freshman year of college. Once outside of the protective rhythms and accountability my parents set, I floundered. I was lost. I wandered aimlessly. I drank heavily. Skipped class. Avoided God. When confronted, I blamed others. I blamed my professors. I blamed my friends. I was so blind I could not see the wretch I’d become.
That’s when I met Jesus. He confronted me on a sidewalk right outside the UMC on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder. He opened my eyes and it was like I was seeing the world for the very first time. The light was blinding. The exposure painful. All my sins were laid bare before Him. There was no escape. I was overwhelmed by sorrow. Overwhelmed by grief. Overwhelmed by the depth of my sin. The road back to health was not easy. It was one tentative step after another. It required facing the consequences of my actions. The brokenness of my relationships. The anxiety of my failures. But Jesus was faithful. He was the light for my feet. The lamp for my path. Because my eyes had been opened, I could actually see the way He laid out for me.
I have no idea where you find yourself this morning. If you are blind or if you can see. Perhaps you are like Zedekiah or like I was prior to receiving Christ. Groping in the dark. Stumbling around in the shadows. Blinded by your desires. Fears. Doubts. Failures. I pray you come to Jesus! The One who specializes in restoring sight to the blind! Let Him open your eyes! Let Him show you His glory!
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Chronicles 3-5, John 7:53-8:11