LightGrams
June 18, 2020
Volume 24, Number 21
I was less than a week away from being born when Roger Bannister set a mark that the world doubted could ever be set. On May 6, 1954 Bannister ran a mile with the first officially-recorded time of under four minutes. It happened in Oxford, England, and his time clocked in at 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. The “impossible” had been done!
A story earlier this week told about a runner in Hereford, England who set a mark for running the mile: his time was 10 minutes, 11 seconds. What makes Ashley Winter’s accomplishment worthy of mention is that he ran the course blindfolded. For that feat he was recognized as a Guinness World Record holder.
Winter is a 37-year-old who suffers from kerotoconus, a rare eye disease that is slowly robbing him of his sight. His aim is to remain active, and thus took on this challenge in order to raise funds for an organization called “Fight For Sight”, a group dedicated to research to find cures for those suffering from eye illnesses. The world is rightfully applauding this Briton for his courage and for drawing attention to the needs of many.
The Bible frequently stresses a theme that might be entitled “Fight For Sight”. The problem for many is that they don’t realize they suffer from any problems at all. The vision the Bible points to is spiritual vision, and many have already lost it.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:3,4, “But even if your gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this world has blinded, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” How sinister Satan must be to be actively working to blind people to the glory of Christ!
John began his account of the life of Christ on earth with this description: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4,5).
Most of us would say that light is a good thing, something we absolutely need in order to live. Without it we can’t see the dangers before us; we can’t find our way home; we don’t know we are being stalked by a wild beast. “Get me a flashlight!” is our first thought when the lights go out. Well, Jesus is our “flashlight”; He shows the way to live.
So there you have the struggle of the universe: Jesus Christ came to give us light; Satan is working to blind us. What will decide which of those two will prevail in me?
I am the deciding factor. When Psalm 119:105 tells me that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”, the implication is that I must choose to let God shine His light for me. I must read the Bible, and follow in its path. I must fight for my sight!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2020, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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