I just can’t see
“Are you the Coming One, or shall we look for someone else?” Matthew 11:3
Are you – I need glasses in order to see clearly. They correct a genetic defeat. The Bible says that every human being suffers from a similar spiritual genetic defect. In this world, we are all just a little blind. Because the world is broken, our ability to see what’s really happening is severely limited. As a result, we keep bumping into things. We just don’t see our way through the maze like we wish we could.
When we can’t see where we’re going, we get upset. It’s not fun running into obstacles. And it’s worse when we follow another blind person. Then we bump into the leader and into the furniture. Naturally, we try to avoid this. We pray to the God who sees, “Lord, can’t you just show me the way? Can’t you just give me a little insight into this situation so I won’t keep falling down? Lord, you know I’m trying to follow you, but I just need to know where you’re going. Give me a map, just a little map, so I can avoid all these potholes.” When we don’t see very well, we want better lenses.
Just how deeply this problem affects us can be seen in John’s question to Jesus. If any man should have known that Jesus was the Messiah, it would have been John. He had advance warning. He had physical confirmation at the baptism. He had his father’s testimony. But when the way grew dark for John, he faltered. He started to wonder if he really heard that voice. He started to doubt what he’d been told. So he sent his disciples to Jesus with a question. That question is the question about vision. It’s the question that asks, “Lord, can’t you just tell me what you’re up to so that I can be sure of my path?” It’s the same question that I ask when I want to stop falling over the furniture. “Just tell me, Jesus. Are you sure this is the way to go?”
The Greek is simple Su ei. “Are you?” But the implications are complex. How often do we come to the dark places, the places where we can’t see the path in front of us, the places where we are off the edge of the map, where we bump into strange things in the night, and we say to Jesus, “Lord, are you really the One I should follow? Life doesn’t look so good right now. I keep falling down. I don’t seem to be making any progress. For all I know, I’m going around in circles. Are you really the One?”
Jesus doesn’t answer John, at least not with words. He merely points to God’s handiwork. He says, “Look at what’s happening for others.” John doesn’t get out of prison. John isn’t healed. John isn’t fed. But others are. If you sometimes feel like you’re not sure about the one you’re following, take a close look at what He’s doing for someone else. Get better peripheral vision. It will improve your blind spot.
