The Lord is in the process of stripping away the blinding scales from the eyes of His Church. These scales have prevented us from seeing what God sees.  

One of the most dramatic salvations occurred with Paul, who was known at the time as Saul.  “Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers” (Acts 9:1). Paul went to the high priest and was given permission to arrest the followers of Christ, put them in chains, and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial and execution.

As Paul was walking along the Road to Damascus to carry out his threats, a bright light fell from Heaven and surrounded him. As he fell to the ground, the Lord spoke, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” (vs. 4). Paul asked who was speaking to him. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (vs. 5-6)

When Paul stood up, he realized he had been blinded by the experience. His companions had to lead him by hand to Damascus, where Paul remained blind for three days, during which time he neither ate nor drank.

In the meantime, a man named Ananias was summoned by the Lord and told, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now” (vs.11). 

Ananias protested, noting the terrible things Paul had done to believers, “But the Lord said, Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel” (vs. 15). 

Paul’s ministry would be threefold. First, he would tell the Gentiles they were included in God’s plan of redemption. Second, he would appear before the kings of nations, and finally, he would tell the people of Israel that they did not represent all of God’s truth.

Ananias arrived in Damascus and laid his hands on Paul, telling him that the Lord had sent him to regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Instantly, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized” (Acts 9:18).  

The scales that fell from Paul’s eyes were the things he thought to be true, but needed to be stripped away like the husk from a kernel of grain. Paul was spiritually blind to what mattered to God. He was still focused on his Jewish faith, thinking it was so important that he could willfully murder the followers of Jesus.  

These scales could only be removed by Jesus, who would peel off Paul’s limited spiritual sight that kept him from seeing how God saw the Gentiles, the kings of nations, and the people of Israel.

We are all like Paul in some way. It’s easy to think we see clearly, but we can actually be spiritually blind.  Those scales of blindness are what the Lord wants to remove. They are scales we have been told to believe, but will not accomplish God’s will. We need to be blinded by God’s truth so we can gain true spiritual sight that will enable us, as it was for Paul, to do what we must do for the glory of God.