"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned." Matt 4:16

I know I take m_y sight for granted. I can't imagine what it would be like to be blind. All that 1 am so used to doing would be so difficult if not impossible. I never really give thought to the fact that I can see, but I definitely should. There are so many things that I tend to forget to thank the Lord for, so many ways in which He has blessed me or those I care for. One of the way's we are blessed we celebrate today on Mother's Day, and its important to recognize each one of you!! One of my goals this year is to thank the Lord for things that I have taken for granted in the past. There are a lot of ways through God's providence that we are blessed and I think it's a worthy goal for us to practice this year.

As I was saying before, I have my sight and very good eyesight at that! The question is although we can see, can we really see? There is a big difference between seeing and seeing as Christ would have us too. Take Paul's conversion for example. He thought he was seeing this clearly, but the Lord blinded him and through that occasion helped him to see with correct vision. I have always marveled at the irony of that story. Paul was made blind in order to see. The truth is without Jesus, none of us can see. We were all of the world at one time or another, and the world sits in darkness.

They cannot see where they are going. They wander aimlessly without purpose or direction until Jesus brings them light. This was exactly how things were for the man who was born blind in John 9. He never perceived the world until Jesus opened his eyes. Jesus confronted this blind man with an opportunity. Jesus told the man, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world!" He then gave the man the opportunity to embrace the Light, accepting a whole new world. Jesus put mud on his eyes and told him, "Go to Siloam and wash!" The man chose to trust Jesus, the Light! He went, and he washed, and for the first time in his existence, he could see!

Many today who are confronted with the Light choose to remain in the darkness. They do this because they know that all of their evil deeds will be exposed by the Light. Will you embrace the Light or choose the darkness? If we let him, Jesus opens our eyes. We then can see and understand things in a whole new way. People who accept Christ have many of these "Aha!" moments where they come to understand things they never understood before. These people see sin in a new light. They see the world and material things in a new light. They see their relationships in a whole new light, in view of eternity. They see their purpose for living in a new light. Like the blind man, they can say, "Jesus opened my eyes!"

People who follow Jesus can clearly see the way to the Father's house, Jesus lights the way, showing us where to go. As we follow Jesus, he clearly illuminates the road that leads to our eternal rest with God, Are you following Jesus, the Light of the world?

Eric