As a senior in Bible college, I had the opportunity to live with a retired gentleman and his wife, Vaughn and Helen Terrell. When I met him, he and Helen were serving as volunteers in a local ministry and renting rooms of their small home out to college students like me, especially those headed for ministry.
Born and raised in Alabama, Mr. Terrell had a deep, rich, and slow southern accent. Coming from California and saying really insightful things like, “Dude” and “Awesome”, I had an uncharitable stereotype of those who spoke “southern”. Little did I know how ignorant I was.
Mr. Terrell had grown up poor but had excelled in school, had gone to college, then law school, and passed the state bar exam. He had practiced law for many years, and then served as a distinguished judge in his home state.
Mr. Terrell was also blind. At the age of 10, he and his friends had found some blasting caps that unexpectedly exploded, resulting in the loss of both of his eyes. Despite growing up with a disability, he had a great sense of humor. One night when my other housemates and I were being somewhat loud, he came out from his bedroom and said, “Helen told me to come out here and quiet you down, so I’m going to keep an eye on you.” Then he laid one of his glass eyes on the coffee table and went back to bed. The accomplishments of his professional life were all the more impressive, knowing that he had done them without the benefit of sight.
What I discovered in living with a blind person was that he was able to “see” things I could not. I found him to be profoundly insightful in the Scriptures and in issues of life, as well as deeply dedicated to the Lord. His other senses were tuned to hear, feel, smell, and understand things that I so easily overlooked. My sermon title this Sunday from John 9:1-23 is “The Trouble with Seeing”. The irony of this passage in John 9 is that the man who was born blind seems to be able to “see” and believe who Jesus is better than most of those around him.
Join us this Sunday at 10:45 am to worship Jesus the Light of the World. Families with children, please come for pancakes and crafts at 9:30 am in the Campus center to celebrate the birth of Jesus the King.
In Christ, who really is “Awesome” in the fullest sense of the word!
Kurt