Heads up.  

There is sin in your life you’re unaware of.

It’s not just you. It’s me too. In fact, each of us has spiritual blind spots. We walk around completely oblivious to areas of sin in our lives. (Aren’t you grateful for the relentless grace of Jesus?) 

I’m reminded of what’s known as a 360° review, a personal and professional development tool designed to help individuals grow in self-awareness and better understand how others perceive them. Peers anonymously fill out a form sharing honest feedback about their interactions with a particular person. The feedback is then organized and presented to the individual.  

Needless to say, it can be quite humbling to discover that while you perceive yourself one way, your colleagues have a totally different perception. They see what you don’t see.  

Subsequently, the critical issue in any 360° review is how you respond. Now that your eyes have been opened, will you have the humility and courage to address your blind spots?  Or will you simply file the information away in a drawer? 

In a similar way, the church of Laodicea has undergone a 360° review of sorts. Except for this time, it’s Jesus filling out the paperwork.  And the report isn’t good.  

Notice the glaring contrast between how the Laodiceans perceive themselves and how Jesus sees them. Blinded by their material wealth, they feel like they “don’t need a thing” (verse 17). Their affluence has led to prideful self-sufficiency and spiritual complacency.  (Uh-oh!)  

So, Jesus graciously shatters the illusion of their inaccurate self-perception. He reveals their deep need before a holy God. Though it might be painful, Jesus isn’t trying to hurt them; He’s trying to help them. Out of His deep “love” for the Laodiceans, Jesus invites them to put “salve on their eyes, so they can see” (Revelation 3:18,19). He stands “outside the door and knocks,” calling them to deeper fellowship (Revelation 3:20).  

Of course, where the rubber meets the road is how they’ll respond to Jesus’ invitation. Will they move toward Him in repentance or away from Him in stubborn persistence? 

It’s a question all of us must answer.  

Let’s get real.  

We have more in common with the Laodiceans than we care to admit, especially those of us in the West.  

We live in a land of abundance. Materialism is the air we breathe and the ocean we swim in every day.  And just like in Laodicea, wealth has a way of blinding us to our spiritual needs. In the parable of the soils, Jesus warns, “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke out the word, making it unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).  

Perhaps it’s time to ask the Spirit of God to perform a 360° review of our lives. We can join the psalmist praying, “search my heart and see if there is any offensive way within me” (Psalm 139:23-24). 

In doing so, it’s vital to remember that if Jesus reveals our sin, He’s not trying to hurt us; He’s trying to help us.     

Healing spiritual blindness is a means of His grace. Like a surgeon cutting out a tumor from our body, Jesus longs to remove what inhibits our spiritual vitality. 

 Just imagine what it will be like when we’re freed from what we’ve not been able to see in ourselves.

Then, we will joyfully exclaim, “I was blind, but now I see!” (John 9:25). 

Written by Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH