And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. Isaiah 35:5

There’s a fascinating story in the New Testament book of John about a man named Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was a leader of the elite religious ruling council, and a curious man.  He’d seen the miracles that Jesus had been doing and he came to talk with Jesus under cover of night.  Nicodemus was a seeker.

Jesus explained to him that entering the Kingdom of God would only be possible through a radical departure from Nicodemus’ own religious goodness, as if he was starting life all over again, or being “born again.” But as far as we know, Nicodemus didn’t get it.

He likely didn’t want to hear that he was lost and that his religiosity didn’t count in God’s Kingdom.  Like Nicodemus, we can’t see that our own best efforts, leave us in spiritual darkness apart from Jesus. “This is the verdict,” John wrote. “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil…will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19-20).

But Jesus came to “open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf” (Isaiah 35:5). Because of Jesus, staying in spiritual darkness or living a life of light is a choice.  If you’re willing to allow His Spirit to open your eyes and unplug your ears, you too will be able to say, “The one who is life itself was revealed to [me] and [I] have seen him” (1 John 1:2).

 

Resource reading: John 3:1-21