Look and Live

March 10, 2013 “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert (on a pole), so it is necessary that the Son of Man be lifted up on the cross” (John 3:14). The eye is a marvelous creation. It is an amazingly complex organ. A healthy eye can see for great distances yet see a tiny needle point. I have never been without any of my five senses but if I had a choice I think my sight would be the last one I would give up. Helen Keller, who was born deaf and blind, said she would rather hear than see. Maybe she said this because she had never experienced either and just didn’t know the thrill of seeing a baby and his smile of recognition. She never experienced the exhilaration of inhaling with your eyes the beauty of the woodlands and mountains in the autumn when the trees are wrapped in their golds, reds, yellows, scarlets and oranges. She never saw the grandeur of snow-capped mountains pasted on the horizon and framed with the azure blue sky. Nor did she ever see a western sky emblazoned with a sunset on the plains. As I am writing this we are traveling to the hill country to see our grandchildren. The hills and fields are already covered with wildflowers. How wonderful to be able to see them. I thank the Lord every day when I wake and look out my window at the wildlife eating or frolicking down by the lake or the bluebirds, chickadees and wrens building their nests for their soon-coming families. I am thankful I can watch the trees, flowers and grass come alive in the spring. But I am most thankful that I can hold, read, study and meditate on God’s Word with Its answers to all my questions, It’s encouragement and comfort, It’s Truth in every word. Because I have seen It with my own eyes and when I drink in Its Truth in every word and on every page, and then believe It and act on It – It changes me! I realize a blind person can read a Braille Bible and receive the same Truth, but I can’t help but think that being able to carry or pick up God’s Word and enjoy feasting on its Truth anytime and any place, is a glorious gift. Our spiritual eyes are even more amazing than our physical eyes. With our spiritual eyes we can hear as well as see spiritual things. Several times when Jesus was teaching he said, “He that has ears let him hear.” He was not speaking of the auditory receptors on the sides of our head but the spiritual (ears)eyes that grasp the Truth that Jesus spoke and accept it and apply it to our lives. Through the spiritual eyes and ears we can understand spiritual Truth, but only if we have accepted Jesus, and then we have the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes. Before Jesus was living within us we were spiritually blind and were in darkness and could not see nor understand the Truth. Truth is Light – It illuminates our understanding. I have gone through two caves in my life. Both were so dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, but once they turned on the light everything became clear and my sense of direction was returned. I have thought this must be how being blind is – you cannot see anything. I have known of blind people who had been blind from birth due to damaged nerves, etc. But through modern day medical science they were able to have surgery and, oh, the wonder of it all, when the doctors removed the bandages in a lighted room, they were able to see! I cannot imagine the indescribable thrill of seeing for the first time – they seemed to be born again! This is what happens when we are “born again,” we have spiritual surgery and our spiritual eyes are opened, we have new eyes and we can truly see – all things are new! Oh, the wonder of it all! Old things become new, we are new creations (II Cor.5:17). I have heard some who had just been “born again” say, “All of creation looked more beautiful. Colors became more vivid and everything became precious.” Numbers twenty one tells of how the Children of Israel had sinned by grumbling at the Lord’s provision so God sent “fiery serpents” to bite them and many died. The people confessed their sin and asked Moses to pray to God for relief. God told Moses to make a fiery serpent of bronze and set it up on a pole, and all who would look at the serpent would live (Num.21:5-8). Those who looked, lived. In John 3:14-15 God is saying the same thing, “Jesus, the Savior, had to be lifted up on a cross to buy our salvation, and all who would “look” (believe and trust) would live eternally!" We are given new eyes so we can see this Truth eternally. We see that spiritual death and darkness were replaced with new life and light. We now can see clearly that Jesus is our only Savior, we now see who our enemy is, Satan, the prince of darkness. Now we see that we are not living in spiritual darkness but in the glorious light of Jesus. Jesus offers to all of us an invitation to come to the cross, and to look and live. His word is “come” and His only requirement to receive His eternal life, is faith. His invitation is to “whosoever will – whosoever desires.” No one comes to the foot of the cross if they do not desire to be there and look so they can live. At this Easter season, if you desire to “come to the cross,” spiritually, and look and live, Jesus is waiting to give you a new life and new eyes to see the Truth. Just ask Jesus to open your eyes as you trust in Him. Look and Live William Ogden I’ve a message from the Lord, hallelujah! The message unto you I’ll give; ‘Tis recorded in His Word, hallelujah! It is only that you “look and live.” Life is offered unto you, hallelujah! Eternal life your soul shall have, If you’ll only look to Him, hallelujah! Look to Jesus who alone can save. Chorus: Look and live, my brother, live! Look to Jesus now and live; ‘Tis recorded in His Word, hallelujah! It is only that you “look and live.”