Do you see?

There's a place in Atlanta you can go called "Dialogue in the Dark." I haven't been, but would like to go. Basically, you are taken on a tour in pitch black darkness. You can't see anything, and have to rely on your other senses to help you "see." It's supposed to be a wonderful "eye opening" experience. It's amazing how being unable to see can actually help us "see" things around us in a new light.

Jesus literally opens the eyes of a blind man in our reading today. Interestingly enough, it's many of the sighted around Him who are actually blind. Blind to the reality of who Jesus is. The gospel of John is written to proclaim that Jesus is God's Son- fully God and fully man. People there SAW his miracles, and many still didn't believe. No wonder Jesus called them blind. This is why it is faith that saves us. We must believe in what we haven't seen.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

2 Corinthians 5:7

As Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd, He states that His sheep will know His voice. I can't help but think of how that relates to our relationships we have on a daily basis. The people we are closest to, we can pick their voice out of a crowd. I joke at church that I have "Aaron Sonar" because I can pick his voice up when I hear him talking down the hall but can't see him yet. Do we recognize Jesus' voice? We heard some wonderful testimony this past Sunday at church from our mission team who went to Nepal to share Christ with people who had never heard the name of Jesus before. They shared that at times they needed, and heard, the direct voice of God showing them where to go or giving them strength for their trials. What an amazing thing. I've prayed over the years to be able to hear God's voice. When I recognize it, it's unmistakable. It's not audible, but it's as clear as if it were coming through a speaker system. Often, I'm too distracted to pick His voice out of the crowd. I'm not listening. I've got to remember that I need the voice of Jesus, my Good Shepherd, to lead me.

Jesus enters Jerusalem for the feast of dedication (which is the modern day Jewish "Hanukkah") and tells the people there that they don't believe in Him because they are "not His sheep." They are so outraged over His claims that they attempt to stone Him. As we've read the Old Testament, it amazes me that the Jews were so blind to who Jesus was. How did they miss Him? The Messiah they had been hoping for was walking among them, and they willing tried to kill him. As Aaron and I have studied the Jewish Feasts for the Wednesday night class we have been teaching, it amazes me even more that they missed Him. So many of their feasts even pointed to Christ. It saddens me even today, because modern day Jews still miss out. The Messiah they have been hoping for has come. Their feasts still contain portions that show their eager expectation of the Messiah. He has come, they've just been blind.

The question arises in my mind- Do I see? Do I see Jesus for who He really is? Do I hear? Am I listening for Him amidst the chaos of my day to day life?

The hearing ear and the seeing eye-

the Lord made them both.

Proverbs 20:12