Spiritual Blindness: Consequence of Sin

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"Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" (John 9:1-3).

Our Lord Jesus Christ stated that there is no connection between the blind man born blind and sin that he nor his parents committed, because most of physical infirmities have no spiritual cause.

However, there is some physical suffering happened due

To our life style: we live in a world that sometimes is demanding so many things from us and instead of clinging to our creator and depending on Him for our needs, we turn to other things, such as drinking too much, and as a result we acquire many diseases or getting AIDS from sexual choices.
To purification from sins: God in His intimate love for His children sometimes may allow physical suffering upon His children in order for them to open their eyes and bring them back to His flock.
To bring His children even closer to Him: the more we get closer to our Lord Jesus Christ through praying, fasting, repentance, reading His word, and partaking from the Holy communion, the more we go through test of faith and endurance and that usually require physical suffering which is necessary for purification.

On the other hand there is spiritual blindness that is caused by our sins. It can happen to anyone who rejects the work of God in himself, who is full of selfishness, who is full of pride, and who has no expression of love and kindness toward others. Like the Pharisees, they harden their hearts and their choices prevent them from experiencing God's amazing work in and around them. Instead, they try to find ways of condemning and finding faults in God's work and in others.

"Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me" (Psalm 40:11).

We live in a world that is full of sinful acts and troubles. We go through moments of doubt and moments of faith and life seems to be hard to control.

Imagine that you are walking in the street. Things all around you appear big (building, cars, signs, people…etc.). Now imagine that you are on an airplane. Now those same things that appeared so big become very tiny objects having no significance. This is what happens when you are away from God; everything seems big and complicated. But when God is right there with you, every trial, sacrifice, and suffering seems to be insignificant.

In every trial we go through, our Lord teaches us a lesson. One of the most important lessons we all have to learn is that sin is everywhere in this world and there is no way to avoid it. We all have imperfections, but we will always have two choices:

Keep your eyes on the Lord
- Struggle to make things right
- Develop fear and love of God's word
- Do not cover up
- Do not allow excuses
- Demand accountability
- Continue to strive
- Rebuke any sinful act on your part
- Confess and repent every chance you can
- Hold on and be patient
Turn away from the Lord
- Blame God
- Have doubts of God's goodness, judgment, and love
- Damage your relationship with God
- Distrust everyone
- Continue in wickedness
- Start losing your innocence
- Question everything pure
- Your conscience begins to sleep away
- Give up trying to be faithful
- Become self-centered
- Death will be a consequence of separation

It is up to us to choose which road we will take. When we decide that we no longer consider spiritual consequences, we are damaging our relationship with God and put ourselves in big trouble, for we allow sin to creep into our life more and more.

"Why do the wicked live and become old, yes, become mighty in power? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull breeds without failure; their cow calves without miscarriage. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice to the sound of the flute. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Yet they say to God, 'Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your way.'" (Job 21:7-14).

Are you familiar with that? Does it sound like a question that you wonder about?

There are different things that we need to consider:

God may give the wicked some grace and mercy in the hope that they see God's blessings and repent.
God gives some earthly grace to everyone, including those who choose earthly comfort instead of God. But for His children, He gives life with Him.
Satan will try to use this to attract us to leave our godly life and follow his plan.

In the Holy Bible we see many examples of that. Jesus Christ has been tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11) and He tells us "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his own soul" (Matthew 16:26).

First of all, without suffering and darkness, we will never appreciate the light. If we approach our lives with this attitude, it will make all the difference. If you believe that your life is perfect just the way it is, then everything will work together for your good, whether the outcome is good or bad.

Do not be blind to the truth. Instead, be eager to learn more and more and change your attitude to gain more blessing from the Holy Spirit. Then your eyes will be opened and you will see the bigger picture. Your goals will be clear, right in front of your eyes; that you are only here on earth for a short time, that serving God is a priority in your life, that suffering is a small price to pay for your salvation and ultimately spending eternity with God.