If you’ve ever lost your eyesight, even for a little while, you’ll know what a harrowing and disorientating experience it can be. Saul was blinded by the light of Christ on his way to kill Christians in Damascus and fell to the ground. His companions didn’t see Jesus, like Saul did, but they heard the sound of his voice, and realised that something incredible had happened. When Saul got up from his fall he was blind. What had happened to his eyesight? Had he lost his sight forever? Was this Jesus coming back to finish him off? These may have been the questions running through his mind.

Saul had a lot of time to ponder these questions; three days! In the black and confusion of this time he didn’t eat or drink anything. This would have been further distressing, but who could blame him? Saul may have been wracked with guilt at the hatred and evil he had harboured in his heart. He’d persecuted Christians, and by extension he’d persecuted Jesus himself.

This proud religious man who had used his eyes to learn the law and hunt down Christians was suddenly disabled beyond recognition. The fear and anxiety of those three days must have been agony but God was using those three days of blindness to reveal to Saul his spiritual blindness. Without Jesus we cannot see anything clearly. God must open our eyes and show us our sin, his salvation, and the fullness of life found in him. Only then will we be able to sing with Saul, and with many disciples of Jesus since that day, “I was blind but now I see!” DB

Questions

1. Why do you think God had to issue such a radical and upsetting experience to fix Saul’s spiritual blindness?

2. What are your spiritual blind spots? How does God help us to see him more clearly?

3. How can you help others in your life to see God more fully?

Prayer

God who restores sight to the blind, help us to see you for who you truly are. Forgive us for our spiritual blind spots and help us to see you more fully today. Amen!