Being blind, they could see
He came down to the pool where I was the lifeguard, and he wanted some tips on swimming. We chatted a bit about form and technique for swimming and then he gave swimming laps a try. He was pretty good at swimming, but he would wander off course and swim into the wall at the end of the 25-yard pool. David (Not his real name) was blind.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1 [NKJV]). David could not see, yet he wanted to exercise and swim. Together we devised a method for him to swim laps safely. The college pool had a water level right up to the top of the deck with the pool overflow on the outside. Soon David would swim along the edge of the pool and touch the top side of the pool with each stroke to keep him straight as he counted his strokes. Soon He could swim straight down the pool and not run into the wall as he knew how many strokes it would take him. It was not long before George (Not his real name) the other blind college student came down to swim laps. They made quite a pair blindly going back and forth in the pool. It was quite the sight to see.
Both David and George would love to have been able to see. What a world would open up to them if they could only see? They tried hard to do what “seeing” people could do. Once, George drove down Lake Blvd. in Pasadena with a driving instructor. Fortunately, the instructor had a steering wheel on her side of the vehicle too.
Jesus was walking out near Jericho in the hot desert near the Dead Sea when two blind men pleaded for Him to have mercy on them. Jesus asked them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Matt. 20:32). The answer was simple and direct, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” (Matt. 20:33). Jesus gave them their physical sight and they followed Him. I wonder if their names were David and George? Do we realize with all the miracles in the Old Testament there is not one recorded instance of the blind being healed? Only Jesus began the healing of the blind. Not just the physical healing but our spiritual healing as well. Jesus came to save us from this world. The healing of the blind was a sign of who He truly was!
It only took a month or so and David asked me if I would teach him how to dive off the diving board. Without any sight, he would come out from the locker room, carefully navigate down to the other end of the pool and stand by the diving board. Sight unseen, he would climb up on the one-meter board and slowly, using his feet and sense of balance feel his way out to the end of the diving board. Diving boards wobble up and down and it takes a good sense of balance even for the seeing to walk out and dive off. David and I had a rule, he would not jump until I personally told him the pool was clear. Neither of us wanted him to jump off the board and crash into someone swimming. The first couple weeks he jumped off feet first into the water. The huge smile on his face and his sense of accomplishment told the story! Soon though, he wanted to “dive” head first into the pool like a real diver. After a few lessons he would dive in head first and again the smile of accomplishment shown on his face. Soon George was diving too.
Jesus gave sight to the blind; all I could do was teach the blind to hope for the things they could not see. “The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;” (Psalms 146:8a). This world is full of the spiritually blind and someday Jesus will open all eyes to Him and His Kingdom of glory. In the future, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” (Isa. 35:5). In the time of Isaiah no one had ever been healed of blindness. It was Jesus and Jesus alone who opened the eyes of the blind. The day is coming when our LORD will open the eyes of all to Him. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8). The worlds spiritual blindness will be lifted for all to see God!
How many of us are brave enough to climb up the three-meter (10 feet) diving board and dive off? It was not long before David asked to use the high dive. I was stunned, what to do? We talked about “rules” and of safety. Without sight, he climbed the ladder to the high dive. Carefully David walked out to the end of the diving board. His feet were ten feet up and he was about 6 foot tall. 16 feet above the water he stood there. When I gave him, the all clear he jumped into the unknown. Full of faith and hope for what he could not see he splashed into the water. Soon he was diving off of the high dive, head first. Could we blindly do this?
We have hope for our future, but we cannot always see the future. David and George could see nothing at all but both had hope of a future in the Kingdom of God where they could see Jesus the King! It was truly “evidence of things not seen” for them. How faithful they were to the Word of God and the hope which lay within them. Let us open our eyes to His glory and His Kingdom and His righteousness!
John the Baptist sent two of his disciples (I wonder if their names were David and George?) to ask Jesus a question. “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dear are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.’” (Matt. 11:3b-6).
Do we see the light? It is all about Jesus opening the eyes of this world to His glory and salvation. Blind faith in Jesus is a good thing for He is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Now let us make a splash and go out into the world and preach the gospel of Jesus and His eye-opening life ahead!
Mike Wallace
