Blinded
The 2013 box office hit “Now You See Me” was a story about four magicians who pulled off amazing stunts in front of large crowds. We learn in the movie that the success of the magicians revolved around what people thought they saw… or didn’t see. Morgan Freeman played former magician Thaddeus Bradley in the movie. His character told the police investigating the criminal tricks of the magicians, “The closer you think you are the less you’ll actually see. The more you think you see the easier it will be to fool you.” All of us tend to process information on how it affects us. We’re often guilty of seeing what we want to see. Our eyes may deceive us. We miss the reality of the situation because we’re looking for something else or because we are preoccupied with our thoughts, concerns, and desires. So it was with Mary Magdalene and the men on the road to Emmaus. Mary didn’t recognize Jesus standing next to her. She missed what Jesus not being in the tomb meant. The travelers didn’t recognize the resurrected Jesus either. They were all being controlled by their fear, disappointment, loss, and sorrow. The great news that Jesus Christ was alive was originally lost on these folks. Let’s not be fooled today. Jesus’ resurrection isn’t an act of magic performed by some magician. It’s real. And we all have the opportunity to share in life ever after. Praise the Lord. Our Savior has arisen.
What He Sees
It’s that time of year again. Spring flowers are on their way to full bloom. We see awesome shades of green popping up everywhere. We hear the crack of the bat and the smell of popcorn at the ball field. Spring is here, but for many of us, the most exciting fact is that baseball season is here. Any of us with even a small knowledge of the game have heard the phrase: “keep your eye on the ball.” It takes focus to be able to get a hit. If you take your eye off the ball even for a second, it could be the difference between a base hit or a strikeout. It has been said that baseball legend Ted Williams would boast that his eyes were so focused that he could actually see the meeting point of the ball and the bat. Sometimes, we lose our focus. We lose our focus on the big game. We lose our focus at work. We lose our focus at home. We lose our focus on Jesus. In fact, many of us right now are more focused on our weaknesses, struggles and sins than we are on Jesus. Focusing that way will do us in. When we fix our eyes on Jesus we find out that He is pouring His life and His spirit into us. Jesus never loses focus on us. He is always watching us. He is always on our side. He will always be near to us.