The Blindness of Vision
George H. Morrison
Acts 9:8
Blinded by the flash of light from heaven, the apostle was flung prostrate on the ground. It was then that the Savior said to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" For a little space his eyes were shut, as eyes instinctively shut in self-defense. That flash of light from heaven would have blinded him had it burst on the unguarded eyeball. And then in a moment or two the apostle rose, and looked around him and scanned the heavens above him. When his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. Half an hour before he had seen everything-the road, the palms, the gleaming city walls. Now he saw nothing-no human face nor form-no battlement-no cloud upon the sky. And the singular thing is that this loss of vision, this forfeiting of the sweet sight of things, came to him when his eyes were opened.
Now that is a very remarkable conclusion; we are tempted to say it is absurd. It is so different from what we might have expected as a consequence of the opening of the eyes. There was a young man once, in Old Testament times, who was sorely frightened by an Assyrian army. And the prophet, in pity for him, prayed to God, "Lord, open the young man's eyes that he may see" (2 Kings 6:17). And when the eyes of that young man were opened, he saw a sight to make any coward brave for the mountain was full of the chariots of the Lord. That is the fitting consequence of vision. It reveals to us what we never saw before. It shows us in common hearts unlooked-for things, and in common scenes an undiscovered glory. But here, on the road to Damascus and at midday, it is the very opposite which meets us. When his eyes were opened he saw nothing. The question is, in our own life's experience is there anything analogous to that? Is there any opening of the eyes which leaves us with a vision forfeited? That is worth while pondering a little.
In the first place let us think of nature and of all that the world of nature meant to men once. ...
George H. Morrison
Acts 9:8
Blinded by the flash of light from heaven, the apostle was flung prostrate on the ground. It was then that the Savior said to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" For a little space his eyes were shut, as eyes instinctively shut in self-defense. That flash of light from heaven would have blinded him had it burst on the unguarded eyeball. And then in a moment or two the apostle rose, and looked around him and scanned the heavens above him. When his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. Half an hour before he had seen everything-the road, the palms, the gleaming city walls. Now he saw nothing-no human face nor form-no battlement-no cloud upon the sky. And the singular thing is that this loss of vision, this forfeiting of the sweet sight of things, came to him when his eyes were opened.
Now that is a very remarkable conclusion; we are tempted to say it is absurd. It is so different from what we might have expected as a consequence of the opening of the eyes. There was a young man once, in Old Testament times, who was sorely frightened by an Assyrian army. And the prophet, in pity for him, prayed to God, "Lord, open the young man's eyes that he may see" (2 Kings 6:17). And when the eyes of that young man were opened, he saw a sight to make any coward brave for the mountain was full of the chariots of the Lord. That is the fitting consequence of vision. It reveals to us what we never saw before. It shows us in common hearts unlooked-for things, and in common scenes an undiscovered glory. But here, on the road to Damascus and at midday, it is the very opposite which meets us. When his eyes were opened he saw nothing. The question is, in our own life's experience is there anything analogous to that? Is there any opening of the eyes which leaves us with a vision forfeited? That is worth while pondering a little.
In the first place let us think of nature and of all that the world of nature meant to men once. ...
There are 10281 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
