Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” -John 9:41
It’s counter-intuitive, especially if you look at many Western religious leaders, but the most spiritually dangerous position to be is the position of being convinced you’re right.
In the verse at the top, Jesus was lecturing religious leaders who were offended that he had healed a blind man on the Sabbath—when “work” was forbidden. Then Jesus made the statement that blind people will see and people who think they see will be made blind. Of course, he’s not just talking about people whose eyes don’t work. He’s talking about a greater spiritual seeing… beyond flesh and finances… beyond race and religion… There’s another level of seeing into the invisible spiritual kingdom that is here among us and still coming to be.
According to Jesus, the criteria of participating in this kingdom—in this heaven on earth—is realizing that you need a miracle.
You need to be made well.
You need to receive the gift of vision.
You need the peace that passes understanding.
You need the power that’s not self-generated.
You need the grace of forgiveness.
You need God.
But… when we’re convinced that we have God—that He is in our pocket, or box, or business—we’re in danger of being blind, and missing the mysterious reality of His presence.
God, let us always be desperate enough to see and humble enough to know we’re blind.