Restored Sight

 

So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. (Acts 9:17-19 ESV).

 

Yesterday I mentioned one of the advantages of getting older, especially having begun in ministry at a relatively early age. There are some physical disadvantages of getting older, however. One of those is I seem to not be able to see as clearly, even with corrective lenses. The ophthalmologist says that “just a part of getting older.” That news was not very comforting when I heard it the first time; and, writing it now seems even less so. The picture I’ve attached is the character, Carl Fredricksen, the protagonist from Disney-Pixar’s animated film Up. He is an old cranky retired helium balloon salesman. Just one of his disabilities is his eyesight. I can identify with him. The character’s appearance is said to have been inspired by Ed Asner who does the voice of the character in the movie. Regardless, there are many days when I wish I could see better. Perhaps the cataracts will get “bad enough” to replace sooner rather than later. The doctor tells me it’s too soon to do the surgery.

 

Our reading today mentions the restoration of the Apostle Paul’s sight. When Ananias brought the Lord's message and Paul (then Saul) received the Holy Spirit, his vision was restored. The blindness he had experienced for three days was gone, and so was his spiritual blindness. Before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul had been sure he had perfect vision and all the answers about God. Paul had been a Pharisee, part of an elite group of Jewish legal experts who believed they had special status with God.

 

Some Christians go through life thinking they have all the answers. Some are convinced they know more than anybody else. When it comes to finding God, they think they have 20/20 vision and can answer all your questions. Of course, none of us has perfect vision, and no one has all the answers. Even Old Testament Job, who was "blameless and upright" ­according to the Bible, had to admit that there was much he did not understand. He confessed that he had limited ­vision, saying to the Lord, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you" (Job 42:5). I have found the sooner I humble myself before the Lord, the sooner the “scales” are removed and vision is restored. Maybe it’s that time for you today.