LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Worst Blindness
We may think that blindness and deafness are only found in godless men; however, the worst blindness and deafness is ours, those of us who have eyes to see and ears to hear, when we turn our back to the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 3:7-8).
We were born again to see the kingdom of God, and we were born of the Spirit to enter this kingdom (John 3: 3-5). Our eyes were opened to see Christ and his Kingdom in us because we were made by Him to be a kingdom and priest for God (Rev. 1:6).
But as it happened with the blind man of Bethsaida, we, at the beginning, do not clearly perceive the things of God (Mar. 8:22-25). The eyes of our understanding need to still be opened to see beyond our redemption (Eph. 1:18-19). Therefore, it is necessary that the miracle continue, so that we can fully see. We need to become fruitful in the knowledge of Christ. For this, we must add to our faith virtue.
Faith without works is dead, but working faith, the faith that is of the Son of God, works in us what is pleasing before God through Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:21). This working in us is not merely works but works of faith. That is why, in his second letter, Peter goes onto say, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge. Virtue is the working of the person of Christ in us, operated by faith, and this virtue brings knowledge of Christ.
In this knowledge, we enjoy of the Fruit of the Spirit: self-control, patience, godliness, fraternity, and to conclude, love—the perfect link, the essence of God. If these fruits abound in us, we will not be idle or unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note that it is in the “full” knowledge, not only in the primary knowledge of our redemption.
The Spirit continues to teach that if these fruits are not found in a believer, he or she is ‘blind’, seeing only what is near, even forgetting of the cleansing of his or her sins (v. 9). This is a word of exhortation to the saints that were regenerated. They were children of God, who saw their sins forgiven, but for not growing in the knowledge of Christ, they even forgot about their redemption. These believers, even though they had eyes to see, are called blind and unfruitful.
That is why we not only need a vision but also life. In Jesus there is life, and life is the light of men (John 1:4). We can only be light if the life of our Lord Jesus is abundant in us. And this life can only be abundant if we take our cross and follow him.