If you were blind, you would have no guilt ...

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

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The prophet Isaiah looked centuries ahead and saw that Jesus would be "a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling". Jesus is a polarizing figure. There is really no middle ground position. In this passage he tells us that there are no excuses. Spiritual blindness cannot be blamed on God. There was ample evidence for the Pharisees and there is amble evidence for us. Only those who willfully close their eyes are blind to the identity of Christ Jesus. To these Jesus speaks words of guilt and judgment.

Yet the overwhelming message in the gospel stories is one of spiritually blind men and women who miraculously began to see for the very first time. It reminds me of an old Amy Grant song that describes having spiritual eyes that see for the very first time:

Eyes that find the good in things, When good is not around;
Eyes that find the source of help, When help just can't be found;
Eyes full of compassion, Seeing every pain;

Being healed of spiritual blindness affects every aspect of our lives. We see things differently and respond to the world around us very differently. When our eyes are opened we see everything and everyone so differently because we see them as God sees them.

I am often blinded by my own eyes Lord. Help me to see all things with the eyes of my heart.