Thursday after Pentecost, 6/7/01

2Corinthians 4:4--6 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, Who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. --NIV In the name of the One Who made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, amen.

There are species of animals that live in caves that are totally blind. I think of one species of crawfish in particular. It is totally blind and has no color in its shell, because it lives its entire life in complete darkness inside of an underwater cave. Experiments have been conducted in which animals have been born and raised in darkness. They too are totally blind. In fact, if they are not exposed to light by a certain early age, they will never see, even if they are later placed into the light. No light, no sight.

By nature we are like the blind crawfish. We grope around in the spiritual darkness. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves see. What is more is that it is in reality too late for us to regain our sight even if we are exposed to Christ. We are too old from the moment we are conceived. But the Holy Spirit does more than just shine the Holy Gospel of Christ on us to make us see. By the Holy Gospel He gives us a rebirth. Then, as we are born into the light of Christ, Christ the light of the world shines in our hearts and we see. We become filled with the knowledge of the Glory of God. Amen.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, shine in our hearts the light of Christ in our hearts and drive away the night of sin. Open our eyes to see the glory of God in Christ Jesus our Savior, amen.

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