August 22, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Friday, August 22.
Do you know someone who is blind? Maybe a friend or a family member? Statistics tell us that over a million Americans have severe vision impairment. That’s a big number. But it pales in comparison to the number of blind people in the 1st Century, during the time of the New Testament. In the gospel of John, chapter 9, we read of an encounter between a blind man and Jesus.
Two thousand years ago there were no optometrists, no eye medicines, no surgical procedures, no corrective lenses. Blindness was common in the ancient world. And because there was no social support network, the blind were often reduced to begging, as was the man that Jesus met. The Bible tells us that he had been blind from birth.
Christ restored his sight, and then, predictably, the Jewish religious leaders took the opportunity, not to rejoice at the miracle, but to criticize the miracle worker. The Pharisees interrogated the man, asking who it was that had healed him, and he uttered this famous reply, “All I know is that once I was blind, but now I see.”
Those words, no doubt, inspired the hymn writer, John Newton, to write these words.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see
Meet you back here on Monday,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
