On our Christian journey, our greatest enemy is darkness from spiritual blindness. It’s wonderful when we get born again; however, it’s possible to be saved and still not understand what Jesus Christ did for us. This lack of knowledge keeps us in bondage and holds us back from becoming powerful, effective believers. An understanding of God’s grace brings us peace, wisdom, understanding, and clarity, and gives us the vision to see things we couldn’t see before.

Well before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah prophesied Jesus would come to preach the good tidings of the gospel, proclaim liberty to those held captive by the restrictive, heavy-handed Law of Moses, and open the prison for those who were bound. In the synagogue, Jesus confirmed that prophecy and added that He also was sent to preach the recovering of sight to the blind. Jesus didn’t simply mean physical blindness; He was also referring to spiritual blindness.

The apostle Paul echoed what Jesus preached when he wrote about the ministry he received from Jesus, specifically, the Gospel of Grace. In recounting his personal experiences since being born again, Paul declared that none of those things moved him, neither did he count his life dear to himself; his main goal was to testify about God’s grace. Accepting God’s unmerited, unearned favor for ourselves opens our eyes to His goodness, mercy, and perfect love for us and radically changes us for the better. It allows us to see ourselves the way we are in Christ: forgiven, righteous, acceptable to God, and bound for heaven.

Fully understanding the impact of the finished works of Jesus on every aspect of our lives frees us from believing that we must work hard to follow a rigid set of rules to please God. When we have faith in Jesus, God is already pleased with us. Even in times when we don’t believe, Jesus remains faithful to us because He can’t deny Himself. Once Christ opens our spiritual eyes, we’ll never be the same.

Prayer:

Lord, Your Son didn’t just save us from our sins, but also opened our spiritual eyes to the truth of Your favor. We’re now free to let go of religion and accept what He did for us on the cross. Thank You for that. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Isaiah 61:1

Luke 4:18

Acts 20:24

2 Timothy 2:13