Through His Eyes

I remember a fable from years ago about 6 blind men. They had often heard of elephants, but had no idea what one looked like... they were blind after all. One day some told them that an elephant was passing by their way. They asked if the elephant might stop so that they could understand what this animal was like. The first touched the elephants side and described it as a wall. The next touched the tusk and thought it was long and sharp like a spear. The third touched the trunk and described it as being like a snake. The fourth touched the ear and figured it was like a giant fan. The fifth touched the leg and though it was like a tree trunk. The last one touched the tail and described it as a rope. As the elephant was taken away, these six blind men argued with each other about what an elephant was really like. The only one that truly understood was the one that told them the elephant was coming in the first place. Why? Because he could see. Had those blind men asked a seeing person, their arguments would have come to an end. Sadly, we can often be spiritually blind. When we read God’s word, we too often interpret it through our experience and desires. I remember passages that I have read many times and yet sometimes there is something new that I see. Truth is, it was always there. For whatever reason, I had never seen it as important until now. We take from the readings what we want to see, just like those blind men perceived the elephant from their perspective, not really searching for the truth. We ignore the problem texts and remember the texts that benefit us or make us feel good. This contributes to some of the splits in churches, in politics, and in families. Just as the blind men would have done well to ask the seeing man to explain why they each had a different view of the elephant, we too would do well to ask the One who truly knows God and His word the best. I am of course talking about God. We are told that the Holy Spirit desires to give us understanding and wisdom, but we must seek His help. We need to stop and ask if what we believe is what God’s word says or what we’ve been told God’s word says. We try too often to prove ourselves right rather than seek God to reveal His truth to us. When there is an elephant in the room, it may be us...our failure to see. O Holy Spirit, give us wisdom and understanding, not for prideful desires, but to truly know Your will for our lives. Amen