I met Terry some 40 years after he served our country. A devout Christian,
I found his take on the world, from his point of view, very interesting. And
how he perceived things, for you see, he was blinded in the Korean Conflict, and
the last memories, his last views of the world were in 1952. Mention cars to
him, he thought Kaisers and Fraziers, Nashes and Hudsons, chopped hot rods, and
Barris Kustoms. He may have ridden in a Mustang at some time, but never saw
one. Never saw an over head valve Ford V8. Never saw an Edsel, or a Corvette.
Japanese brands like Honda, Nissan, Datsun, Toyota, and Mazda were well after
his loss of sight. He could only listen to the car ads on TV and imagine what
they looked like, he might feel and smell fine Corinthian leather, but never saw
it. Every car, every house, every fashion, every motorcycle, and all fast food
was like 1952 to him in his mind. Blind before McDonalds, he could only imagine
what Ronald looked like, how Elvis was the pelvis, what was moon walking, and
had no idea what a hippie looked like. He never saw a Beatle haircut, never saw
a 3-D movie, and could only imagine what a modern kitchen of today was like.
His vision of the world died in 1952, and for 40 years, all his memories would
be based on what it looked like then, comparing what he was told to then. It
didn’t matter how you described today, he only had the views of yesterday to
envision it. Except for Harley Davidson...
An old story tells of the blind men meeting an elephant, and trying to
describe it. The first feeling his nose, said “it must be like a snake.” The
second touching its side said “it must be big like a wall.” And the third,
touching its foot, stated “it must be big like tree stump.” All three right in
their responses, all three describing the same elephant. But each without
benefit of the whole elephant. A lot of people, Christians included view Jesus
like that. The Bible tells us that we only see in part, but someday we will see
in fullness. That fullness is offered to us today, but for some reason we
reject or neglect it. Much easier to come under the control of a religion or
denomination. To only know what the pastor or teacher tells us. Don’t ask
questions, don’t question our views. And in many ways are more blind than Terry
of how they see the world and Jesus. Terry has been dependent on help from
others after his blindness, yet we fall short in our spiritual blindness, not
seeing how the spirit instructs or guides. In many ways we need more than just
being taught, just being a part of passive participation, we need the fullness
of Christ in our lives daily. Yet many only see apart of him like the blind men
with the elephant. He is a great teacher, and they stop there. He might have
been a prophet, and end there. He might have performed miracles, but they
stopped too. He died, and his tomb was empty, but what about his resurrection?
Religion will only give us a part of Jesus, it takes the spirit to reveal the
mysteries of him, and to show who he is, the true and only son of God, God
incarnate, and our only redeemer. Unless you see that part of Jesus, you miss
heaven, and all the other things are good, but won’t get you there. Maybe being
set free or saved is as simple as the quote of the man Jesus gave his sight to.
“I don’t if he is good or bad, all I know is I was blind and now I see.” A
simple portrayal of the gospel, an opening of our spiritual eyes to the truth.
Yet many Christians today lead a Christian life using a cane, blinded by not
fully knowing Jesus or who he is. And we are all guilty of it from time to
time.
Job in his worst hour of testing could still say “I know my redeemer
lives.” He knew the character of God, and it went way beyond what he could see
and feel. It was a deeper sense, only revealed by the holy spirit, knowing that
whatever he encountered on earth, God would make it better someday in heaven.
Can we say the same thing? Do our actions portray a loving and living God in
our adversity? How we see Jesus will dictate how we live for him. Job looked
forward to seeing God, and knew he would. He knew what he was expecting, but in
the end, god provided so much more. He offered him insight and the source of
all meaning and power, via his spirit. In the darkest hour, he knew his
redeemer lived. How many of us see life through his eyes, but have no hope?
Believing is seeing, not the other way around.
So I know someday Terry and all who suffered but claimed Jesus as their
savior will truly see him someday. His world of 1952 will suddenly be a
heavenly paradise, and like scripture promises, “eye has not seen, nor ear
heard, nor mind imagined the kingdom of God,” whatever he has imagined heaven
to be, it will be much better. A promise for us also, so how do you see Jesus?
Maybe a quick trip to the cross will help. Is the cross empty or is he still on
it? Is he still suffering or is he resurrected? Is he alive or dead? Maybe it
is like the angel said, “he is not here, just like he said.”
So at car shows when I see any car 1952 or older, I think of how Terry
remembers his world. But also how he sees his future. Spiritually he was once
blind, like we are were, but now he sees. If only we all had the spiritual
eyesight that is offered, how we would see things truthfully. But for now, we
only look into a mirror darkly.....but let the spirit open your eyes to the
reality of Jesus. To be in the kingdom is to belong to God, on earth as it is
in heaven. If only we could see what God sees....and how he sees it. How you
see God will make all the difference. The word blind is mentioned 82 times in
King James Version, Jesus himself warns the church in Revelation 3 that we are
blind, and don’t know it. The question is, do you?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com