I was scanning through the birthday card aisle awhile back and stopped when I came across a cute card with an old lady in a hospital gown on it that said “My mind says I’m in my twenties. My body says ‘Yeah, You Wish!’” I chuckled to myself, but then recalled my own age and the relentless ache in my knee. An older friend of mine recently purchased his first pair of reading glasses and was amazed how clear print really could be when reading. In fact, his comment to me was, “Wow, these glasses really speed up reading and make things clearer!” Yes, it’s true, my husband and I are not in our twenties anymore. For many of us we take these physical gifts for granted until one day we wake up and our body requires a careful stretch before movement or an extra arm adjustment to read the morning paper.
I’ve worn glasses since the fourth grade so I had to snicker a bit when Josh was explaining how great his new glasses were. The clarity one finds when putting on the new spectacles is really pretty exciting. I wonder if this excitement of new found sight is true of our spiritual lives too. Both Josh and I grew up knowing our Savior mostly due to the families we were born into. We never questioned who Jesus was or why our family participated in different ministries. We were given the lens of the Gospel early on and accepted it into our hearts as adolescents. I would say this is probably true of most of you reading this little article, but what about the others?
The others? What do you mean, Becky? I simply mean the others – those who do not sit among us in the church pews; whose lives may lay in ruin; the folks who seek peace from the world never finding it. Simply put, those who do not know Jesus to be their Savior. For many, the lens of the Gospel has never been offered to them, others have denied the need for it. So what does that have to do with us? Everything! We have the gift of sight, and Jesus instructs His servants to share it with others!
All this talk about sight reminds me of Paul. After all, he was blind and then had the gift of sight restored – in more ways than one! Still known as Saul, he was traveling down a road one day minding his own business when suddenly a bright light and voice appeared to him and just like that he was blind. After his physical sight was restored he received the gift of the Holy Spirit and began his ministry. In Acts 26 Paul reflects on the day his life changed forever with King Agrippa sharing the words Jesus spoke to him on the road, “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
Equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul obeyed Jesus’ instructions and shared the Good News with everyone he encountered. As he showed the light of Jesus to others, hearts were transformed and eyes were opened to know their Creator and lives were restored. We have been given the same instructions, and like Paul, the same Holy Spirit that worked through him works in us.
Becky Ossefoort