That which I see not teach thou me’ (Job 34:32).
Blind spots when driving can give rise to terrifying near-misses. What cause all of us who have ever driven a vehicle have to give thanks to God for preserving us when travelling! But I believe we should also be aware of blind spots in the Christian life. There is always the danger of blaming another for some minor fault, when we ourselves are guilty of a much greater fault (Matthew 7:3).
We should pray to be preserved from the danger such blind spots pose to our souls. May we never blame another for a small mistake, out of a heart full of pride, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy! These sins are all too natural to us, unless grace makes and keeps us humble.
Another danger, perhaps even worse, is that of doctrinal blind spots: errors or wrong emphases that can cause us and others to go astray. This too is a frightening possibility. May the Lord teach us ‘that which we see not’, and keep us from the paths of the destroyer (Psalm 17:4)!
Besides humility, what we mainly need is a mirror; not a rear-view mirror, but the ‘glass’ of the Word of God. The Psalm just cited shows us this: ‘By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer’ (emphasis added). But we must not just glance at our reflection, then go away and forget ‘what manner of man’ we are (James 1:23-25). We must do what the Word says, and continue in it. This is James’s great emphasis, and it should never be neglected.
But how thankful we should be that the mirror of the Word shows us another face as well as our own! If all we saw was our own visage, spotted, wrinkled, and marred by sin, we might well despair. Thank God, there is something infinitely better to see: ‘We all, with open face beholding as in a glass [or mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Beholding our own face may show us we must be changed, but beholding the glory of the Lord actually changes us. ‘God’s mercy in Christ is not only an object of delight, but it is a powerful object that influences and transforms the soul’ [Richard Sibbes: The Excellency of the Gospel above the Law].
Perhaps increasing conformity to Christ is the best safeguard of all against blind spots. It is never perfect in this life, ‘for now we see through a glass, darkly’; but our faith is nourished by the hope of seeing him ‘face to face’. ‘Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known’ (1 Corinthians 13:12). May we be kept from the blind spot of considering only this ‘short, uncertain earthly life and pilgrimage’! May we be kept longing and preparing for ‘that day’!
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