05/16/18 - Acts 9

May 16, 2018

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," He replied. Acts 9:5

Sin persecutes Jesus and makes us blind, obedience honors Jesus and makes us see.

Saul (soon to be Paul) had NO IDEA his actions were actually persecuting Jesus.  Saul thought he was living out a God-honoring life.  His persecution of Christians was something that seemed justified and righteous for the defense of Yahweh.  Little did he know that it was not righteousness, it was sin!  Saul was completely blind to it.

Sin has a way of doing that to all of us.  We wouldn’t call it sin … in fact, we often see it as the right thing to do.  It’s easy to justify our behaviors when it appears popular or pious.  Blind spots tend to do that – we only see through tunnel vision our intentions, and don’t recognize the sinful path it takes us on.

Every sin is a persecution of Jesus.  It is a slap on His face, a flogging of His skin, and a nail through His body.  The more we do it, the less it seems wrong.  That’s the blindness setting in.  We can justify it or even legalize it, but the persecution remains.  The only antidote for our blindness is facing the bright light of Jesus.  Only by looking at what Jesus did, and obeying what Jesus said, do we discover the blind spots in our life.

Saul was knocked down and blinded by the light of Jesus on his trip to Damascus.  It’s ironic that Jesus had to blind Saul in order for him to see!!!  Saul had clearer vision when blinded physically, and more blind in his vision when he was seeing.  Seeing Jesus has that affect.  He is the only one that removes scales from our spiritual eyes, so we can see clearly what we’re doing.

Here’s a dangerous prayer – ask Jesus to bring light into your life on every blind spot!  Be prepared to discover where you have been blind to your own sin.  Expect to be challenged about your behavior.  Seek His Word & His Ways, even to the point you will RADICALLY change.  Better to be blinded by His light, than to see physically and be headed toward hell.

Don’t let sin blind you any longer.  Let Jesus take the scales off of your eyes.  You may discover a life ahead that changes the world!  (For sure it will change your world.)