Spiritual Cataracts
Weathered by age and life’s trials, the
white-haired man gingerly pushed himself up and out of his recliner. Laying his
afghan blanket on the cracked, brown leather chair, he shuffled in his house
slippers to heed the call of the door bell.
“I’m coming. It’ll take me a bit. Be
patient,” his chuckling voice rang out, followed by a muffled cough.
“Take your time. We’re in no hurry.” Due
to a move across the country, it had been eight years since we’d seen him in
person - a few minutes longer wouldn’t hurt.
Staring at the front door, it struck me
how it imitated its owner. The yellow paint no longer told of its once
brilliant glow. Multiple holes perforated the screen door - no longer able to
keep the insects at bay. Slightly warped wood told the tale of years of winter,
arctic blasts alternating with sweltering summers. When the door finally
opened, the creaking told of tired hinges needing a little tender loving care.
Head slightly bobbing, the old man stood
there scratching the back of his head, straining to see through the screen. His
eyes lingered on me…then on my older brother – a baffled look rose upon his
face. A sigh swept through our spirits. “He doesn’t recognize us.”
This day called for jubilant greetings,
open-armed embraces, and laughter. A celebration was in order – it was a family
reunion.
Instead, a slightly shaking right index
finger rose and pushed glasses up the bridge of his nose in hopes of figuring
out the identity of the two strangers. Squinting, the confusion on the old
man’s face became even more distinct.
“Grandpa, it’s us - Chris and Dann.”
“What? Who did you say you were?”
“Chris and Dann. Your grandsons. Bill’s
boys.”
Silence ensued. Hearts ached.
My brother and I glanced sideways at each
other not knowing how to tactfully get him to understand who we were. How could
Grandpa not recognize us? Dad said he’d call and let Grandpa know we’d be
coming by today. Had the cataracts
distorted his vision that much?
A long-distance call that night helped us
to understand Grandpa’s plight. No one told him we were coming!
Traveling through New York a year earlier,
one of our siblings intended to stop and see the family patriarch. Somehow that
visit with three co-travelers never took place. So Dad didn’t do his job
proclaiming our arrival for fear of a repeat non-performance. And Grandpa
stopped looking for visitors.
The scenario our heavenly Father foretold
regarding His Son’s arrival was radically different. He didn’t fail to make the
call for fear of a non-performance:
“See, I will send my messenger, who will
prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to
his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the
Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3:1). John the Baptist burst on the scene 400 years
after this prophecy - paving the way for the coming of the Messiah, and fulfilling
the promise of the Father.
“There came a man who was sent from God;
his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so
that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came
only as a witness to the light” (John 1:6-8).
John’s sole job was to be a witness who
was sent from God. The Greek word for witness is martus from where we get our English martyr. A martyr is one who bears witness, by his death, of what he
has seen, heard, or knows. Going before the anointed One of Israel, John the
Baptizer proclaimed Jesus’ imminent arrival. He spoke in order to wake people
up to their need for the Light that was sent from God.
John did his job. The witness testified
about the Truth and turned people’s gazes upon Jesus…in order that they might
believe.
“This believing when closely analyzed,
included knowledge, assent, and the confidence of the heart. It is never a
blind trust… While saving faith is also implicit and reaches out in trust
beyond what we actually know and can know, it always does this only from the
vantage ground of explicit faith, the sure ground of what we do and can know.”[1]
If
you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have received the power of the Holy
Spirit and are commanded to be a witness, regardless of how the message is received
by others. “The true light that gives light to every man was coming
into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,
the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own
did not receive him” (John 1:9-11).
Some today will not recognize Jesus when
you share your witness. Some will not receive Jesus. “This verb [receive]
may be used of taking a person to oneself in intimate relationship. It is used
of Joseph taking Mary as his wife (Matt. 1:20-24) and of Christ taking
believers to himself in heaven (John 14:3). This is the kind of welcome that
his own people ought to have given him when he went home.”[2] But still the witness must
go forth. For some will recognize, believe, and receive.
“Yet to all
who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).
Be a witness.
Sound forth a call to conversion. But rest in the reality that only God issues
a converting call. “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it
grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6).
Prayer
“Praise you, heavenly Father, for sending John the Baptizer
as a witness to his world and to ours. Your love is amazing. Not only did You
send Your Son to bear the wages of mankind’s sins, but you sent a herald in the
flesh to make sure that the world would know that the Messiah’s arrival would
be imminent. Let our lives imitate the humility of John’s. We admit that we are
double-minded. We desire to point people to Jesus alone, yet at times we also
want to bask in the spotlight. We want people to look at us, to notice us.
Grant us the power to die to ourselves – which is the root reason why we point
to anything in our lives other than Jesus. Heal our spiritual cataracts. Grant us
forgiveness. We desire that people believe in Jesus. Let our words and deeds
point to the Light in the hope that others recognize and receive Him as their
Lord and Savior. We praise your holy name because your grace is overwhelming.
Even though the world, and much of Israel, did not recognize or receive Jesus, you
did not give up on mankind. Let us be the voices that shout from the rooftops
to a lost and hurting world seeking to be loved – ‘to all who received him, to
those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God!’
By Your grace alone, we are children of the most High God.” Ω
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