“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus. Mark 10:51-52 NIV
The other day, I came across these Colgate ads . . .
If you were like me, you may have been blinded and unaware of the six-fingered hand or the extra hand in the ads until the third photo. These advertisements remind me that we can also be “spiritually” unaware or blinded. Spiritual Blindness is the inability of a person to perceive, understand, grasp or comprehend spiritual truth or the working of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, repeatedly encountered the spiritual blindness of His disciples, the crowds and the Pharisees. (Matthew 15:16-17; Mark 8:17,18,21; Matthew 23:16,17,24,26; John 9:39-41) The prophetic proclamation of Isaiah 6:9, “ever hearing, but never understanding; ever seeing, but never perceiving” seems to be a popular topic in the Bible as it is quoted in each of the Gospels (Matt 13:14–15; Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:10; John 12:39–41) and twice by Paul (Acts 28:26–27; Rom 11:8).
Although we may get a little exasperated, when by law, we have to have our vision checked by the ophthalmologist every two years in order to buy contacts, it may be a good idea to have our “spiritual” eyes checked on a regular basis! With this in mind, I developed a little Spiritual EYE-Q Test. Check it out!
SPIRITUAL EYE-Q TEST
Circle YES or NO for the following Questions.
1. When you or someone you know is going through a trial, do you assume it is God’s judgment because you or they have done something wrong?
YES NO
(Although God at times does judge sin, there are many reasons for suffering in Scripture that have nothing to do with the sin of the person involved. In John Chapter 9, the disciples attributed a man’s blindness to either sin he or his parents committed. Jesus corrects their wrong assumption in John 9:1-3. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. The Pharisees also are blinded to the motive of Jesus’ ministry to the man and after questioning the man twice, they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. John 9:34. Jesus then addresses their spiritual blindness in John 9:39-41 NIV.)
2. Do you find yourself doubting God will provide for your future even though he has provided for you in the past?
YES NO
( AFTER Jesus had fed the multitude of five thousand and four thousand, scripture records this little incident. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful, “Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” Mark 8:14-21 NIV)
3. Are you growing in faith, knowledge, self-control, perseverance and love?
YES NO
(His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 2 Peter 1:3-9 NIV)
4. Is there anyone you hate?
YES NO
(Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:9-11)
5. Are you legalistic but lacking in justice, mercy or faith?
YES NO
(“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” Matthew 23:23-24*)
6. Do you have only an outward appearance of righteousness?
YES NO
(“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:25-28*)
7. Do you accept bribes or show partiality?(Unjustly favoring someone because of a benefit you could reap.)
YES NO
(Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. Deuteronomy 16:19; See also Exodus 23:8 NIV)
8. Are you lukewarm in your relationship with Jesus Christ?
YES NO
(To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Revelation 3:14-19)
9. Do you often judge others?
YES NO
(He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Luke 6:39-42)
10. Would you or others describe you as rebellious?
YES NO
(“Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” Ezekiel 12:2)
11. Are you calloused to the things of God?
YES NO
(For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Acts 28:27 and ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Matthew 13:10-17)
12. Are you Insatiable, greedy or self-indulgent?
YES NO
(Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain. “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.” Isaiah 56:10-12*)
13. Do you consider yourself to be an unbeliever?
YES NO
(The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14. If you are not a believer and would like to know more about how to become one please CLICK HERE.)
Tally up how many YES answers you circled.
0
Read Acts 26:16-18. After the Apostle Paul’s physical and spiritual blindness was healed, this was Jesus’ commission to him. (‘I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of Me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’) OR Read Leviticus 19:11 (Do Not Lie.) 🙂
1-4
Read Psalm 146:8 (The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.) And Psalm 119:18 (Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.)
5-8
Read Luke 4:18 (“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.)
9-13
Healing of Blindness: Want, Ask, Believe, Receive, and Follow
Read Mark 10:51-52 (“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus.) And Matthew 20:32-34 (Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.)
*Note: Jesus reserved his severest rebukes for religious leaders that should have known better.
Today, I pray for you the prayer Paul prayed for the church of Ephesus. LH
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. Ephesians 1:17-19 CEB
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