H. G. Wells wrote a story entitled, "The Country of the Blind." It’s about a hidden valley shut off from the rest of the world by high cliffs. That valley was inhabited only by blind people and no one there had ever been able to see.

A lost and weary traveler stumbled into this country of the blind and stayed with them for a while. As he lived among them, he found himself falling in love with a blind young woman. He began considering the possibility of marriage.

But the blind people thought that this man who could see was strange. They felt that his mind was cluttered and confused, distracted by his claim – the ability to see. So, they insisted that if he wanted to continue living among them, he would have to have his eyes put out and become as blind as they.

For a while the man thought that he would be willing to do that. But one morning he got up and saw the beauty of the sunrise, the mist rising from the valley floor, the dew glistening on the petals of the flowers, and he realized that he could not stay in the country of the blind. So, he climbed out of the valley and returned to the world of sight.

When Jesus came into our world, He saw things that the world was unable to see. He thought thoughts that the world had never thought. He did deeds that the rest of the world could not do. And our world could not stand that. It tried to pull Him down to its own level. Jesus refused to be a part of the darkness of this world.

But there the story loses its analogy, because Jesus did not run away from our darkness. Instead, He conquered it. And not only that, but he brought back with him the "blind maiden". Are you that one?