Hammer on Anvil '

Often my buddy Jay and I will sit and discuss a wide range of topics. One of our favorite spots for these talks is under the Thomas Jefferson statue at the MO State Capitol. Recently I had read over the Declaration of Independence and was thinking about it while sitting under the statue. Kind of cool since he was the author of the document. As I sat there and considered the "self-evident truths" that all men are created equal and have the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, I wondered how Jefferson could write that and yet be a slave owner. He penned those words that we are all equal, yet he and many devout Christians treated an entire race as less than human. How could they have been so blind?

A similar situation is Jesus' first disciples. They spent roughly 3 years with him and yet abandoned him at the end. I know I have been guilty of the thought, "If I had seen and experienced all they had I would have no trouble believing. I wouldn't doubt for a second and certainly not abandon him." How could they have been so blind?

I ask this (how could they be so blind) not so I can show how much better I am than they. Rather it is because it troubles me. The phrase "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." comes to mind when considering these things. It is important to learn from the mistakes of others and where people have been blind, but more than anything it makes ask To what am I blind to that will be criticized in the future?

"Jesus said to him, 'What do you want me to do for you?'
The blind man replied, 'Rabbi, I want to see!'" Mark 10:46-52