Have you ever experience total darkness?  It gives you a feeling of helplessness, knowledge of what it’s like to be blind and relying on others completely.  I usually like to sleep with a light on in a hallway or another room for those various reasons.

When I was teaching drama, we’d often take a “blind walk” through the environment.  The kids would close their eyes tightly, but some couldn’t resist peeking.  They felt so much more secure when they could see what was going on.  The point of the exercise is to get individuals to use their other senses when one isn’t available to them.  By touching, smelling, listening and even taste testing something we can envision our environment.

As we walked from building to outdoors, they would touch the cement sidewalk, the bricked path, through fragrant gardens, listening to the sounds of the space.  When we rely on our sight alone, it’s difficult to act in faith.  Were always looking for answers – ones that suit our needs.  Maybe faith should be considered one of our senses.  We need it to believe that which is unseen and often unknown.

Are you walking in faith or by sight?

Walking by faith is another gift from God through the Holy Spirit, who first entered us through the act of baptism.  Faith is a belief in something you can’t see, hear, feel, taste or smell.  So in effect everything about our salvation is a reflection of God working in and through us.  Even though we can’t physically see Him, by faith, we know He exists and is walking beside us through our journey.

Faith, like trust, is a word which describes complete reliance on someone or something, to get us through the turmoil of this world and set us down in heaven some day.  Take a blind walk someday, or simply close your eyes and use your other senses to determine where you are.  We have an advantage through faith, because God loved the world so much, He sent His Son to die for our darkness and sin – to bear our punishment – our pain – our separation from God.  Through faith, we have the confidence that we are never alone – even when we feel like our world is closing in on us.

God opens our eyes when we dig deeply into His Word.  He strengthens us through His Holy Spirit, who inspired the words within that Bible. He is a loving Father who wants all His children to enjoy paradise.  Through the only Son of God, Jesus, we have been made holy in God’s sight.

OPEN YOUR EYES!

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.