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"Blinded
By Grace" 
Bender Bylines
Brought
to you by:
Ron Bender President/CEO Bender Consulting
E-mail ronb.benderconsult@gmail.com
My eyesight has always been pretty good most of my life. I hadn't
worn glasses till I was 41 years old. My brother on the other hand wore them
all his life. We could blame our mother and
father, but then they would have to blame their parents and so on.
Regardless of how my genetic makeup came to create my eyes as they are,
the fact of the matter is that if I don't have contacts or glasses on can't read
or watch television with ease. This allows my wife to have some fun with me
when my corrective lens aren't in place, as she
might hold a ten or twenty (as she pulls it out of my wallet) up ten feet away from me and ask
I'm going to the store do you need anything? Not knowing what it is I must
trust her. Needless to say I don't do well at this game...
Although
my physical eyesight continues to deteriorate, my spiritual eyes are
seeing more clearly than ever. While I look around at all that this
world has to offer, its appeal wanes. I see the wealth, the fame, and
all that seeks to draw me into a mindset that believes that somehow
there could be true life and peace in these temporary trappings. But I
am seeing those things for what they truly are, a horrible delusional
distraction from the One who gives eternal life, true peace. All that
attempts to draw me away from Jesus is not worth straining my eyes to
see.
I
have experienced grace in life. And it is shaping how I see
life and the world around me. Apart from grace I would be forced to see
this world and the people in it through cynical, bitter eyes. I would
see greed, lust, abuse, anger, and all else that sin has darkened as
reason to cower in a lonely corner of the planet and simply wait for
judgment to rain down. But grace has changed everything - everything!
I don't see the people around me as pitiful
excuses for humanity who God should have wiped out centuries ago. I see
lost, dying, needy people whose eyes simply haven't been opened yet. I
see people who can only see through the lens of their physical vision,
who can only see the hurt, pain, and hopelessness of a world under the
spell of sin. I see wonderful, beautiful, broken people for whom Christ
willingly carried the cross and paid the final, total payment for their
sins. I see lives of infinite possibilities just waiting to be unleashed
the moment they encounter, and embrace, the grace of their
Maker.
While I wouldn't ever desire to be
blind, I wouldn't mind if my vision continues to worsen as I look at all
that tries to appeal to my sin nature. Because I want to continue to
sharpen my vision for truth, resting fully in the wonderful grace of
Jesus. As I gaze into His beautiful face, His glory blinds me to all
else. I can then see clearly that it is only by His grace that I stand,
that I truly live, and that I can touch those around me with any impact.
Grace blinds us to sin's appeal and to ourselves, thus allowing us to
finally live as God intended: by faith.
Will you look today into the compassionate, inviting face of Jesus
and be blinded by His grace? I pray you will, for when you do all else
fades and life truly becomes worth living. Blinded
By Grace, Ron
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