Blind Spots

Blind spots.  They naturally occur in the human eye, thankfully because we have two eyes the right and left eye compensate for each other.  

The optic nerves for left and right eyes are arranged symmetrically, so that the blind spot of the right eye lies somewhere right of the center of vision, and the blind spot of the left eye lies somewhere off to the left of centre. Since the right eye can see whatever lies in the left eye’s blind spot, and vice versa, the two eyes together provide complete vision. (1)

The American Heritage Dictionary says that a blind spot is also a subject about which one is markedly ignorant or prejudiced. Others use terms such as uninformed or unappreciative.

There are psychological blind spots.

In many ways, we do not act according to the truth. We act according to the truth as we believe it to be. And there is a particular danger when “experts” are certain that they know the truth. The human mind innately responds to “psychological certainty” by creating very real blind spots to evidence and arguments that contradict the certainty. Anyone aspiring to be objective in viewing evidence and sorting through arguments needs to develop a degree of self-doubt in order to minimize the automatic and natural actions of the human mind.

In Australia a 600-km marathon is held between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Several years ago a 61-year-old man named Cliff Young showed up to run the race. Now the world class runners thought he was some derelict that showed up in the wrong place because Cliff showed up wearing Osh Gosh overalls and galoshes. And he was obviously an old man.

When he told them he was there for the marathon, the professional runners asked if he had ever run in a marathon before. “No,” replied Cliff. “How have you been training?” they asked. “I have cattle on my station [farm] and since I have no horses, I run around to move them along.” The runners laughed.

You see, every professional marathoner knew with certainty that it took about five days to run this race, and that in order to compete, you would need to run 18 hours and sleep six hours. Cliff Young was clearly not up to their standards.

When the marathon started, the pros left Cliff behind in his galoshes. He had a leisurely shuffling style of running that targeted him as an amateur.

Cliff had no training. He did not know what the world class runners knew. As you have probably guessed, Cliff won the race, but that is not what is astonishing. What is astonishing is that he cut one and a half days off the record time.

How? Because of his lack of training, he didn’t “know” that you had to sleep. Cliff just kept on shuffling along in his galoshes while the pro runners slept, and he finished the race in three and a half days. He beat everybody. He was a sensation in Australia.

Now that world-class runners “know” that it is possible to run days at a time without sleep, and that they can conserve energy by adopting an easy shuffling jog, they have a new way of approaching long marathons.

We are like the pro runners. We act, not according to the “real truth” but according to some cockeyed truth given to us by some well-meaning or not-so-well-meaning “expert”.

For these reasons we need a sure foundation in the Word of God, a passion for righteousness, a commitment to humility and trust in brotherhood.

The thing that concerns me is spiritual blind spots.

Either we think we perceive thing that are not of the Spirit – or worse yet – we fail to see spiritual thing that are there. 

Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the spiritual eyes of his servant so “that he may see,  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha”. 

Consider the Disciples on the road to Emmaus, they walked with Jesus seven miles, and didn’t perceive who was beside them.  Had his facial features changed?  Had his physical appearance change so dramatically that they didn’t recognize their master Jesus?  Why did Mary mistake Jesus for a gardener?  Why did Thomas have to see Jesus with his own eyes or he wouldn’t believe?   Blind spots….psychological or Spiritual blind spots. 

They were blinded by the fact that they seen him die; they witnessed his bloody death, therefore the very concept of his resurrection was foreign to their carnal mind.

Why couldn’t the Jewish leaders accept Jesus as the Messiah?  It was Spiritual blind spots.

If the God would not have intervened with a vision it is possible Peter’s prejudice nationalistic pride would have prevented him from going to Cornelius’s house. This prejudice almost divided the early church, and in some degree did because during the whole ministry of Paul he is competing with those who thought the church was a Jewish religion.  

Blind spots. I am concerned that I might have some preconceived notion, research to support my belief,  argue my points thoroughly, and yet miss the point altogether.   A spiritual blind spot.

Sometime I am afraid I(we) put the Creator of the Universe in a preconceived box, and when something happens out side of my(our) understanding, I(we) fail to recognize the spiritual work of God right in front of me(us)!   This is a spiritual Blind spot.  

John 7:24 “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

The antidote for Spiritual blind spots may come in pairs; much like our natural eyes compensate for the others blind spots. 

– I need the Word and the Spirit. 
– I need fellowship and brotherhood.
– I need submission and(to) authority.

I have come to realize my inadequacies, I must have the spirit of God . 

Pastor Bledsoe

(1) Author: Chris Davis
(2) Watching for Critical Blindspots – Mark Alexander