August 30 - 2 Corinthians 4:1-12 - Blind the One! Break the Other!

The survival instinct and the pleasure drive move human beings to seek and maintain a comfort zone. We try to find that place of equilibrium where threats are minimized and thrills are maximized. The culture of contemporary America thrives on this. Advertising pretty much has only two motivators; it plays on our fears and our desires. Money or materials is usually set forth as the solution to these two. You can buy insulation from the things you don’t like and access to the things you do. This dynamic between man, money and media is one example of what Paul calls “the god of this age.” Sadly, the pursuit of the comfort zone is the path to spiritual blindness. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers …”

Interesting that Paul doesn’t say “blinded their eyes.” He says, “blinded their minds.” Train a person’s thinking and you will control them. Thought shapes culture, and then our expressions of culture reinforce our thinking. Around and around, we stir our way of life until it cures like cement. We end up with bricks for brains! Who can break through this concrete blindness? Only One. Only the Lord, who can renew the mind, bust up the bricks and bring true sight through the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, the god of this age is a breaker, too. He wants to blind unbelievers and break the faithful. Enlightened believers are not blockheads, but they are jars of clay. We carry the treasure of the truth of Jesus in delicate vessels. We are subject to pressure, perplexity, persecution and pounding. But the power of God is at work in us. He will not allow us to crumble, lose hope, anguish alone or be defeated.

Rather than lose sight or lose heart, fix your gaze firmly on the glorious face of God. If you have a secret, shameful sin – turn away from it. If you tend to bend the truth or warp the word of God – turn away from that. Turn and look long into the brilliance of Jesus Christ. True vision, clear thinking and victory will follow.

Pray: Merciful God, thank you that you have declared “Let there be light,” not only in the creation of the universe, but also in the re-creation of my soul. Now, I can see clearly. I can think clearly. I can accept that I am but clay. And I can rejoice that I am kept by the all-surpassing power of Jesus Christ. Help me to break through to the blind in my world, that they, too, might know your glory.