Amazing Grace - 'saw but was blind, am blind but still I see'
I was seeing the wonderful movie the ‘Amazing Grace’ which is the story of William Wilberforce whose early life is depicted as young man confused about himself. He has a glittering political career ahead of him, his quick wittedness and rhetoric in the house stand as substantiate evidence of his abilities, but on the other his heart is most endeared to the simple and beautiful things in God’s creation, from the daffodils to the spider webs laden with the moisture of the heavy British atmosphere.
He contemplates a life of solitude for God’s service away from the politics and the pleasures of the world. He feels a need to do something about the plight of the slaves. Some tell him that he could be a politician and serve God through it. He needs guidance and goes to meet the old Rev. John Newton, the famous slave trader turned priest who penned the song ‘Amazing Grace’.
Wilberforce wants John Newton to explain to him about the atrocities faced by the slaves. All Newton tells him is that he is always haunted by twenty thousand ghosts of the slaves. He tells him nothing more.
When Wilberforce presses him further and he concedes that he has the heart to face his past by recounting his experience in the slave trade industry, an bring back the 20,000 ghosts to haunt his conscience. John Newton does not relent, he refuses go back and face the reality of his past.
Years later, Wilberforce in the thick of his struggle against the slave owners of the parliament to pass the abolition of slave trade, goes back to meet John Newton again. Then Newton is much older and ‘blind’. He notices something astounding, Newton recites an account of all his dealing in the slave trading industry and has a young man write it all down.
Wilberforce is surprised how Newton decided to do what he avowed that he would never do - bring back the old memories and allow him to be tormented by the twenty thousand ghosts.
John Newton, replies ‘I once was Blind, but now I see’. It is such a profound statement because it has no physical truth because it is only ‘now’ that he is blind. It is a metaphysical statement because earlier, though he saw, he was ‘blind’ about himself because he did not want to delve into the depths of his wretched conscience and be haunted, broken and contrite. But now he was blind but still he saw. He saw himself in true light of the conscience that God had given him.
One cannot ‘see’ oneself as long as one chooses to be blind to old hurting memories. One has to relinquish the comfort of ‘conscious amnesia’ and be haunted by ones own vileness and be broken before the One whose grace is ‘Amazing’ in the light of the vileness of ones nature and embrace His grace, before one can ‘truly’ see oneself in the light of the Light of the World.
He contemplates a life of solitude for God’s service away from the politics and the pleasures of the world. He feels a need to do something about the plight of the slaves. Some tell him that he could be a politician and serve God through it. He needs guidance and goes to meet the old Rev. John Newton, the famous slave trader turned priest who penned the song ‘Amazing Grace’.
Wilberforce wants John Newton to explain to him about the atrocities faced by the slaves. All Newton tells him is that he is always haunted by twenty thousand ghosts of the slaves. He tells him nothing more.
When Wilberforce presses him further and he concedes that he has the heart to face his past by recounting his experience in the slave trade industry, an bring back the 20,000 ghosts to haunt his conscience. John Newton does not relent, he refuses go back and face the reality of his past.
Years later, Wilberforce in the thick of his struggle against the slave owners of the parliament to pass the abolition of slave trade, goes back to meet John Newton again. Then Newton is much older and ‘blind’. He notices something astounding, Newton recites an account of all his dealing in the slave trading industry and has a young man write it all down.
Wilberforce is surprised how Newton decided to do what he avowed that he would never do - bring back the old memories and allow him to be tormented by the twenty thousand ghosts.
John Newton, replies ‘I once was Blind, but now I see’. It is such a profound statement because it has no physical truth because it is only ‘now’ that he is blind. It is a metaphysical statement because earlier, though he saw, he was ‘blind’ about himself because he did not want to delve into the depths of his wretched conscience and be haunted, broken and contrite. But now he was blind but still he saw. He saw himself in true light of the conscience that God had given him.
One cannot ‘see’ oneself as long as one chooses to be blind to old hurting memories. One has to relinquish the comfort of ‘conscious amnesia’ and be haunted by ones own vileness and be broken before the One whose grace is ‘Amazing’ in the light of the vileness of ones nature and embrace His grace, before one can ‘truly’ see oneself in the light of the Light of the World.