The Illusion of Sight
How Darkness Governs the World!
Isaiah 60:2
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.
The world is unconsciously gripped by a force it cannot name. We are told we are free, but that freedom is often an illusion. Deep darkness manipulates us in virtually invisible ways. How is this possible? A simple classroom memory offers a key insight.
The Typical Classroom
Imagine a clock on the wall of a grade school classroom. Before the digital age, our entire lives were governed by that one ticking disc. Nothing happened without its approval.
On days when minutes felt like hours, I fantasized about altering it—not just moving the hands, but changing the pace of time itself. If we could alter time, one day would be indistinguishable from another, and yet it could be drastically different.
Here is the point: A force capable of modifying the 'rhythm' of our lives would make us unwilling subjects of undetectable changes. We live in a world of perceived constants that are actually managed variables.
We assume we are free agents, yet we are subject to factors our senses cannot detect. Just as those school days were ordered by a system we trusted blindly, darkness creates an illusion of stability to mask its control. We cannot detect a system of control if we are inside it.
This was the principal message of Jesus!
He said, ‘If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?’ (Mt 6:23).
In other words, if the very lens through which you view the world is skewed, how would you even know you are lost? How would you measure how much you deviated?
What can you see?
Those who rejected Jesus objected to this message. When He told them they were not free, they doubled down on their illusion. This truth is the first premise of the gospel. Freedom requires an honest assessment of the problem. The ruling class were unwilling to accept this.
Jesus’s words in John 9:41 strike at the core of human pride:
“…If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore, your sin remains.”
As long as we refuse to admit we might be deceived, our captivity is solidified. Like the sitcom genius who asks, 'Don’t you think if I were wrong, I’d know it?' Pride refuses to question our compass.
True freedom begins with a terrifying but necessary admission: On our own, we do not see. Only when we acknowledge the darkness can we step into the light. The truth will set you free!