In John 9, right before Jesus heals a blind man he says: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” I like this miracle because giving sight to the man born blind seems to demonstrate the purpose of Jesus’ ministry. It illustrates Jesus’ power to bring his light to those of us in darkness.

Jesus declares that he is the light of the world in the presence of a blind man. It seems as if he was trying to make a point.  Let’s look at what that point could be.

Imagine how obnoxious it would be for someone to tell you to do something when you know you just can’t do it. For example, imagine having the best food in the world in our mouth, but not having tastebuds…and then imagine being asked to describe the taste. Imagine going to the concert of your favorite band.  But then imagine being deaf and being asked to describe what you heard.

In both examples, the issue is that of capability or ability. Without the ability to see or hear that which is just “out there” is not experienced. You need to be capable of tasting to enjoy my mom’s Italian dinner.  You need to be able to hear to enjoy the Beastie Boys.

Perhaps it is at this point that we can identify with the blind man and reflect on how our blind eyes don’t see the light that Jesus says he is. Our spiritual eyes don’t see.  Our wills don’t work. We are not free. Our wills are in bondage.

We know this reality in our lives.  Think of your experience of darkness. You know you can’t make your doubts go away by willing them away.  You know you can’t just remove your fears and insecurities by looking in the mirror and repeating an affirmation.  You can’t fix your painful family relationships by trying harder. How do you erase your own sense of guilt without it only haunting you later? Our darkness sounds like powerlessness.

But, maybe Jesus will show up and illuminate our hearts so we can see the brilliance of his light. Jesus brings healing to the exact point of the blind man’s suffering and darkness. Like this man, we can’t heal our own blindness.  It is NOT a matter of being “kind of” capable or “kind of” able and just trying harder.  It is not like we are spiritually injured and we can limp toward Jesus so we can lean on him the rest of the way.  Rather, we are blind and poking around in the dark. And left on our own we are not capable of experiencing the absolute beauty and splendor of grace unless Jesus heals our spiritual blindness.

Where darkness, death, and decay seems to reign in our lives, Jesus breaks in with light, liberation, and love.

Here’s a story to illustrate this. Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, lived in Scotland in the nineteenth century. As a boy, his family lived on a hillside overlooking a small town. Robert was intrigued by the work of the old lamplighters who went about with a ladder and a torch, lighting the street lights for the night. One evening, as Robert stood watching with fascination, his parents asked him "Robert, what in the world are you looking at out there?" With great excitement he exclaimed: "Look at that man! He's punching holes in the darkness!"  With that one statement, Robert Louis Stevenson summed up this miracle. Jesus came into this world and accomplished many great and miraculous wonders, yet his primary purpose was to punch great gaping holes in the darkness that shrouds us. He came to be the light to the entire world and he came to punch holes in your darkness…whatever it is.