"As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
"Who are you Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
The men traveling with saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
I love the way Jesus interrupts our lives sometimes when we're on such a destructive path. He certainly knows how to get our attention, and we can be sure he had Paul's attention at this point! But the story gets even better. Christ led a man named Ananias to where Saul was staying and told him place his hands on Saul's eyes to restore his sight.
"Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength."
Every time I read this account I'm drawn to the part where the scales fall from Paul's eyes. We used to have a pet snake, Legoless, and one of the most stressful times for him was when he was shedding. He'd struggle for days to get rid of the layer of dead scales clinging to his body, but when that layer of deadness was gone he was like a brand new snake.
Suddenly Paul had brand new eyes. He could see again, but more importantly, he had spiritual eyes to see the work of God. He now saw the world through eyes that Christ had given him! I just think this is so cool, because it illustrates how we really can do nothing apart from Christ. We rely on him for everything, even the ability to see HIM clearly!
It's obvious from scripture that the eyes are pretty important. Matthew 6:22-23 says, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. but if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" There are several insights we can gain from this passage, but I think one is that if our spiritual eyesight is weak, we will not discern the light of God. Instead we will be surrounded in perpetual darkness. On the other hand, if we see clearly the light of God, we will be filled with that same light! How encouraging this is!
Do you ever feel like you need fresh eyes? Not just see the world itself more clearly but to see Christ more clearly. I feel this need on a daily basis since there are so many things in my life that I don't understand and need spiritual insight in. The eyes to see these things can only come from Jesus. He is the ultimate restorer of sight! Ephesians 1:18 says, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Oh how I wish I had the eyes to see the glory of God!
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