Blessed Are the Holy (7 of 9)
Series: Blessed
Jim Perdue
Matthew 5:8
Intro/Attention
*In 1982 the Los Angeles Times carried the story of Anna Mae Pennica, a 62-year-old woman who had been blind from birth. At age 47 she married a man she met in a Braille class; and for the first 15 years of marriage he did the seeing for both of them until he completely lost his vision as well. Mrs. Pennica had never seen the green of spring or the blue of a winter sky. Yet because she had grown up in a loving, supportive family, she never felt resentful about her handicap and always exuded a remarkably cheerful spirit. Then in October 1981 Dr. Thomas Pettit of the Jules Stein Eye Institute of UCLA performed surgery to remove the rare congenital cataracts from the lens of her left eye - and Mrs. Pennica saw for the first time ever! The newspaper account does not record her initial response, but it does tell us that she found that everything was so much ''bigger and brighter'' than she ever imagined. While she immediately recognized her husband and others she had known well, other acquaintances were taller or shorter, heavier or skinnier than she had pictured them. Since that day Mrs. Pennica has hardly been able to wait to wake up in the morning, splash her eyes with water, put on her glasses, and enjoy the changing morning light. Her vision is now 20/30 - good enough to pass a driver's test. Think of how wonderful it must have been for Anna Mae Pennica when she looked for the fist time at the faces she had only felt, or when she saw the Pacific sunset or a tree waving its branches or a bird in flight. The gift of physical sight is wonderful. And the miracle of seeing for the first time can hardly be described.*
Yet there is a seeing that surpasses even this - and that is seeing God. The wonderful story of Mrs. Pennica's ''miracle'' fades in comparison to the promise of God's Word. READ TEXT Jesus' words tell us how to get 20/20 spiritual vision. If we want to see God, ...
Series: Blessed
Jim Perdue
Matthew 5:8
Intro/Attention
*In 1982 the Los Angeles Times carried the story of Anna Mae Pennica, a 62-year-old woman who had been blind from birth. At age 47 she married a man she met in a Braille class; and for the first 15 years of marriage he did the seeing for both of them until he completely lost his vision as well. Mrs. Pennica had never seen the green of spring or the blue of a winter sky. Yet because she had grown up in a loving, supportive family, she never felt resentful about her handicap and always exuded a remarkably cheerful spirit. Then in October 1981 Dr. Thomas Pettit of the Jules Stein Eye Institute of UCLA performed surgery to remove the rare congenital cataracts from the lens of her left eye - and Mrs. Pennica saw for the first time ever! The newspaper account does not record her initial response, but it does tell us that she found that everything was so much ''bigger and brighter'' than she ever imagined. While she immediately recognized her husband and others she had known well, other acquaintances were taller or shorter, heavier or skinnier than she had pictured them. Since that day Mrs. Pennica has hardly been able to wait to wake up in the morning, splash her eyes with water, put on her glasses, and enjoy the changing morning light. Her vision is now 20/30 - good enough to pass a driver's test. Think of how wonderful it must have been for Anna Mae Pennica when she looked for the fist time at the faces she had only felt, or when she saw the Pacific sunset or a tree waving its branches or a bird in flight. The gift of physical sight is wonderful. And the miracle of seeing for the first time can hardly be described.*
Yet there is a seeing that surpasses even this - and that is seeing God. The wonderful story of Mrs. Pennica's ''miracle'' fades in comparison to the promise of God's Word. READ TEXT Jesus' words tell us how to get 20/20 spiritual vision. If we want to see God, ...
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