It is such a shame that some people go through life with their eyes closed. They look but don't really "see". They observe the surface but don't see what is underneath. They may see an image but don't see or understand the issue. They have a great absence of perception. They may see the road but not what is on either side of the road. They read a poem but don't feel or see the passion placed in it by the poet.
If you remove insight into life, you reduce life to existence with frequent flashes of boredom and indifference. These types of people only see the obvious, the expected and the bare essentials.
For example, in chapter 6 of Mark we find the disciples out in a boat. This was right after they had seen Jesus miraculously feed thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread and a handful of fish.
Jesus wanted some quiet time to pray on the mountain so he sent the disciples away in this boat. A storm later broke upon the sea and they were filled with panic. The next thing we see is Jesus coming to their rescue. Then He calms the sea and stills the wind. He then assures them there was no reason to be afraid.
Mark makes a comment worth remembering: They were utterly astonished, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened. Mark 6:51-52. The real problem here is that it wasn't that they were unable to understand. It wasn't that they were stupid or some kind of ding-a-lings by nature, just by their own choice.
By this time, they had been sufficiently exposed to their miracle-working Master to respond with keen insight to their circumstances. They just choose not to. Had they applied what they observed earlier that day when the thousands were fed, their response to the storm would have been insightful.
In Hebrews 5 we see how this can apply to disciples today. Hours many hours have been spent in church under the teaching of the Word. The opportunities to use those truths have been legion. But what does this passage say? It says some have become "dull of hearing"—thick, lazy, sluggish, lacking insight. Lacking maturity. Maturity comes by mixing insight with practice, which is often a rarity today. So is the discernment between good and evil, brought on by "trained senses," is frequently conspicuous by its absence.
I want to challenge the reader: Open your eyes! Think! Apply! Dig! Listen! There's a lot of difference between necessary blinking and unnecessary blindness.
