Imagine being able to see into some person's mind and read their thoughts. Imagine being able to instantly see what mood that person is in, or what emotions they are experiencing. It must be quite amazing. Apart from the physical blindness we experience with regard to not seeing things right in front of our eyes, there is a blindness to do with unseen matters. What do I mean by this? An example would be, two people would walk into the same room, meet the same person, but only one will see that this person is upset. Or, two people will walk past the same beggar, but only one will see whether it is a genuine case of poverty or not. Two people will be wronged by the same person in exactly the same way, but only one person will see beyond the person's deeds to the underlying reason why the hurtful act could have been done. The other person will react and retaliate in order to put up a defense. What makes the difference?

(Some people react easily to the smallest things other people do . . . while others are not affected at all - see picture below)

Just as the distracted motorist takes the wrong turn, so the person with a mind heavy with anger, bitterness and hatred experiences a blindness to more sensitive matters below the surface; emotional matters, mental matters and spiritual matters. Has anyone ever rambled off something that has upset you? Don’t you think that person is blind, for not seeing further than the words he has just spoken, without thinking? A person, who allows the power of evil to influence his life, will experience this type of blindness. The more the power of evil is given control, the blinder the person will become. How blind is the person who rapes a young child? (See picture below).  How blind is a person who kills to gain the little money in his victims purse? How blind is the person who defrauds his partners or his company of large sums of money?  These people can’t see what they are doing or the devastating implications on the people they are injuring and on their families. Although they can see where they are going, and whom they are hurting, they are totally blind with regard to seeing the unseen consequences of their actions.

Not just anybody will be able to see these deeper, hidden matters. Something special needs to happen to a person in order for them to see on this unusual, extraordinary level. Jesus said to His disciples, in Matthew 13:16, 17, “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Many religious people think that they see the truth of God, and that they are on the right path, but they don’t see at all. They attend church once a week, but spend the rest of the week criticizing people around them, not showing the unconditional love that should spring up in the life of a true believer. (See picture below). Revelation 3:17, 18, says, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so that you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so that you can see.” Matthew 13:14, 15, continues by saying, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” Isaiah 59:9, 10, goes on to say, “We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.”

The reason for this inability to see beyond the superficial and surface matters is the presence of sin in our lives. The very next text in Isaiah 59:12,13 confirms this by saying, “For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us and we acknowledge our iniquities; rebellion and treachery against the Lord.” Remember, as we discussed previously, there are only two super powers contending for supremacy on this earth. Good and Evil. We don’t need to deliberately choose the Power of Evil in order to fall under its spell; we need only to neglect to choose the Power of Good. Neglecting the Power of Good automatically brings us under the Power of Evil. When we are under the Power of Evil, we cannot discern or see the deeper, emotional, spiritual matters that are below the surface in people's lives, in different situations.

Look at how the apostle Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 2:12, 14 “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand, (or see), what God has freely given us...The man without the Spirit does no accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand, (or see), them, because they are spiritually discerned.” A miracle happens when you and I go before our Almighty God on a daily basis, confess our sin and rebellion to Him, and receive forgiveness. We then forgive all the hurt that we have suffered from others. When we are washed from this dirt in our lives, our eyes open and we can begin to see the unseen, the things that most people can’t see. We receive the eyes of God, by means of His Spirit, living in us. When we choose the Power of Good over our lives, we are given this miraculous extension to our eye sight. We see the hurt in others, we see reasons behind the hostility in certain people, and we see people’s desperate need for love, care and affection. Our focus moves away from our own problems to the problems and difficulties in the lives of others. Somehow, as we give instead of wanting to receive, a quiet inner happiness replaces the restlessness that disturbs our attempts to gain happiness.

You will be really surprised as you read through this miraculous living illustration which Jesus enacted during His time on earth. John 9:1-15 tells of how Jesus and his disciples came across a man who was blind from birth. Jesus approached the man, spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. Jesus then told the man to go and wash his eyes. So the man went and washed and came home seeing. His neighbors who had formerly seen him begging asked him how his eyes were opened. He told them that the man they called Jesus made some mud and put it on his eyes. After he washed, he could see. The same miraculous, living illustration can take place in your life and mine every day. Our minds are loaded with clutter from the rebellion, bitterness and hurt in our lives. This causes us to be insensitive and blind to the deeper matters in situations and in peoples lives around us. We will receive the sight of God, through His Spirit, which will transform all our associations and interactions with people on a day to day basis. Instead of seeing the faults of people, we will see the strengths; instead of misunderstanding people, we will understand; instead of reacting to harsh treatment from people, we will see behind their actions and react with sympathy instead of hostility.

The miraculous daily cleansing also gives us the ability to read, absorb and understand God’s Word. As the apostle Paul states, in 1 Corinthians 2:11,14, “In the same way no-one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand, (or see), what God has freely given us...The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Jesus speaks of His Spirit as “the Spirit of Truth,” or the "Spirit of His Word" - which is The Truth. Jesus says in John 16:13, 14, “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth...He  will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you.” The truth, is the teachings and words of Jesus, and these are written down in the Bible. As we read these words, after our daily washing, the Spirit of God simplifies and explains them to us, so that they can be digested and absorbed into every part of our hearts and minds.

How easy it is to build our lives around people, relationships, work, hobbies, sport or travel. Most people believe that a God exists, and always seem to call on Him in times of need. People mostly live their lives independent of God, saying that if God were more real, it would be easier to get more involved with Him. Once a person’s eyes have been opened, and they can see below the superficial level in life, they can see the needs of people so much more clearly. People all around us are in desperate need in one way or another. (See picture below).  These desperate needs in the lives of people are very difficult to pick up, because people hide them so well. The hurt, bitterness and anger from the past are parceled up with the best wrapping people can find, presenting themselves as coping, confident and content. (See picture below). The eyes of a person washed and cleansed by God, will penetrate through the carefully wrapped hearts and see the tender spots that have been torn and tattered by incidents from their pasts. The eyes of a person washed and cleansed by God will look for Jesus in the eyes of those suffering the blows of loneliness, separation and desperation. If anyone has a longing to see Jesus, look for Him in the eyes of the needy and the eyes of those who are suffering. Jesus Himself said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.  The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the lest of these brothers of mine, you did for me'” (Matthew 25:35, 36, 40).

“Love is the basis of godliness. Whatever the profession, no man has pure love to God unless he has unselfish love for his brother. But we can never come into possession of this spirit by trying to love others. What is needed is the love of Christ in the heart. When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of a Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within–when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance. It is not possible for the heart in which Christ abides to be without love. If we love God because He first loved us, we will love all for whom Christ died. We cannot come in touch with divinity without coming in touch with humanity; for in Him who sits upon the throne of the universe, divinity and humanity are combined. Connected with Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the chain of love. Then the pity and compassion of Christ will be shown in our lives. We will not wait to have the needy and unfortunate brought to us. We will not need to be persuaded to feel for the woes of others. It will be as natural for us to reach the needy and suffering as it was for Christ to go about doing good.” (E.G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p.384, 385). (See picture below - We meet Jesus in the eyes of those who suffer and are in need).

Jesus told the following parable, “The ground of a certain rich man produced a crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself. “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” Luke 12:16-21. “By the parable of the foolish rich man, Christ showed the folly of those who make the world their all...This man’s aims were no higher than those of the beasts that perish. He lived as if there were no God, no heaven, no future life; as if everything he possessed were his own and he owed nothing to God or man...In one moment, that which he has worked for his whole life to secure, becomes worthless to him...The only thing that would be of value to him now, he has not secured. To live for self is to perish. Covetousness, the desire of benefit for self’s sake, cuts a person off from life. It is the spirit of Satan to get, to draw to self. It is the spirit of Christ to give, to sacrifice self for the good of others.” (E.G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 259).

(Most people think happiness comes from pleasing self. Money is seen as a means to get the things that will bring happiness . . . but it fails the test over and over - See picture below).

It takes a special discernment to be able to see beyond the boundaries of this life. Our human instinct tells us to hoard and gather about ourselves, in order to be totally secure. When this is our only focus, and we don’t see beyond this immediate demand, we can lose sight of the most important aspect of life; to be right with God and to let Him plan and direct our lives; to build our lives around God first, living on this earth as temporary tenants, waiting for our permanent, heavenly dwellings to be finished by the Master builder. As the apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18,“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal...We live by faith, not by sight.”

In the first study we did on  fruit bearing, we learnt that we are the trees, planted in either the good soil of God’s Word, or the bad soil of evil influences. The good soil of God’s Word or the evil influences pass through the roots, which are our eyes and ears, into the trees, which are our lives. The good or bad fruit which the trees bear, are brought about by the gardener, who waters, fertilizes and prunes the trees. The roots are what make contact with either the good or bad soil. To repeat Matthew 6:22, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness.” Our eyes take in pictures and send images to the brain. There are only two forces fighting for control of our lives. Good and Evil. If our eyes are tuned into the Force of Good, we will be immune to the images that will cause us to fall into temptation and into sin. If our eyes are tuned into the Force of Evil, we will be susceptible to the images and led into temptation and fall into sin. (See picture above - Our eyes are the pathways to our minds. When our eyes focus on the Good, our minds will be good. When our eyes focus on evil, our minds will be evil. Our eyes need to be protected daily from the forces of evil, by coming under the spell of God.) Paul confirms this in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Satan will do anything to keep our eyes away from the good powerful influence of God’s Word. He will put images before our eyes which will distract us from God’s Word and draw us toward his traps. The eye is the first step which leads us toward victory or toward sin. “When the woman, (Eve), saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.” Genesis 3:6. Christ says in Matthew 5:28, “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” It is in the look. The Forces of Evil can gain access to our minds through our eyes if they aren’t cleansed daily by a fresh commitment to God for that day. David says in Psalm 119:37, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; renew my life according to your word.”

Discernment or spiritual sight, is the next step after cleansing, to gain knowledge of God, which leads to holiness, or fruit bearing. When we spend time alone, in the presence of God, giving and receiving forgiveness, and eating from His Word on a daily basis, God gives us a miraculous ability to understand His Word, and His plan for our lives. See how the following three portions from Scripture emphasize how spiritual discernment and understanding fit into the fruit bearing concept. Ephesians 1:17, 18 says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He called you.”

(See picture - The medical world could never give us the sight we need to understand the mysteries of Godliness and the truths of God's Word. This sight only comes from God.)

Philippians 1:9,10, “And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.”

Colossians 1:9,10, “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”