Horse Biology
Horses are prey animals. In the wild, predators like mountain lions, bears and wolf packs all attack wild horses. Often they target young foals, or the weaker animals, but not always. Cougars will kill healthy adults. One great protection horses have is their eyesight. For instance, their night vision is better than ours. Also, a horse’s field of view is 350 degrees, which means they can see predators sneaking up from almost any direction and spook easily. That’s why trainers put blinders on race horses. Limiting their side and rear vision stops the horse from being startled by sudden movement, so they don’t panic. In addition, blinders keep them focused straight ahead.
Spiritual Blinders
Christians wear blinders too. Our blinders are created by a poor self-image, insecurities, and old emotional wounds. Spiritual blinders can give us a false idea of what our Heavenly Father is like. Also, our sinful nature keeps us clueless. Finally, my spiritual blinders will also cause me to misread Scripture passages. For me, 1 Corinthians 4:5 is a clear, personal example.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:5 NIV)
I read this Scripture multiple times and yet I’ve always gotten the message wrong. Fortunately, a few years ago, the Holy Spirit highlighted the true meaning of this Scripture passage and opened my eyes.
I’m not a perfect Christian, so this passage made me cringe. Because nothing is hidden from the Lord. He knows every sinful deed I’ve ever been guilty of, all my nasty thoughts, hasty judgments and terrible motives. So when I would read a verse like
…He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart…
I saw myself forgiven but standing ashamed and guilty before Christ’s Judgment seat.
Seeing the Verse Clearly
But one day, the Holy Spirit removed my spiritual blinders. For the first time, I paid attention to the last ten words of this verse.
At that time each will receive their praise from God.
Maybe there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” as Romans 8:1 says. Maybe when the Bible states we have been cleansed of our sin and are part of “a royal priesthood and a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), it’s true. After all, for a nation to be holy, every citizen has to be 100% holy too.
Ephesians 5:8 proclaims “for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.”
That’s a fundamental change in our nature, from once being darkness and now becoming light instead.
2 Corinthians 5:17 declares
Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
Most telling of all, is 2 Corinthians 5.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)
My Spiritual Point
Maybe all these verses aren’t metaphorical but quite literally true. Maybe when we each received Christ we were transformed into something new.
One thing I do know; when our lives are reviewed before Christ, we’ll receive praise from God the Father, our Savior Jesus and the Comforter for the life we’ve lived here on earth.
But here’s a mind-boggling question.
Do you think judgment day for the believer might be a time of blessing and celebration? I’m not sure, but perhaps it will be.
These images were downloaded from Pixabay.com.
