Day 6: Light to the eyes
[Jesus] also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39)
Our Father, You are the Source of Light, the Creator of light (Genesis 1:2-3). But when Your perfect light became marred by sin and disobedience (Genesis 3:11-24), You promised a Deliverer—a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ— to a lost creation stumbling blindly in the darkness. You spoke of His specific mission:
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness; I will take hold of Your hand. I will keep You and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42;6-7).
When He came into the world, He said of Himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). "In Him was life," testifies the apostle John, "and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4-5).
Yet Jesus knew the clever deception of darkness—darkness that shuts out the light in order to mask evil (John 3:19). He knew that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4). And He warned against blind guides who are not guides at all, but dangerous conductors to inevitable destruction.
O Lord, we pray for wisdom, insight, and clarity as we navigate through a world full of blind guides, confusion, murkiness, blurred lines, and deception. We know that human knowledge and information is imperfect at best, and we are mindful that the foundations of integrity and stability are often shaky and unsound.
But this often creates opportunity for forces of evil and mischief to sow seeds of discord, disinformation, and confusion. O help us. Show us the way. You have promised us Your Spirit to guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
In a world that teeters and totters and swings to extremes, give us soundness and balance, discernment and prudence. Help us to seek out objective knowledge, rational analysis, clear logic, and sound reasoning.
Make us as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). Protect us from the host of blind guides in spiritual and secular circles.
Since Your word has application to all areas of life, help us to do our best to present ourselves to God as [those] approved... workers who have no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15 - ESV). The psalmist tells us that The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes (Psalm 19:8).
We remember the words You gave to Your people at a time when they, too, were in great confusion: Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn (Isaiah 8:20).
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