Blind as a Bat

Read: Hebrews 11:1-3; 1 John 5:4-5

“Look out!” said Benjamin as his sister stumbled over a chair. “You must be blind as a bat if you didn’t see that chair, Eliza!”

Eliza huffed as she righted the chair. “Bats aren’t blind!” she said.

“Yes, they are,” said Benjamin. “They find their way around by listening to sound waves instead of by seeing things with their eyes.”

“Yes, but they can see,” said Eliza. “They just don’t see very well, so they rely on their ears to get around.”

“Eliza’s right,” Dad said. “The phrase ‘blind as a bat’ is an expression people use, but bats aren’t actually blind.”

“My teacher said they fly at night and make squeaky, high-pitched sounds and then listen for the echoes,” said Benjamin. “The amount of time it takes for the sound waves to bounce off something and echo back tells the bat how far away the object is.”

“Very good!” said Dad. “And did you know that, like bats, we should depend on more than just what we can see?”

“You mean we should use our ears?” asked Eliza. “Like how a train whistle warns us that a train is nearby?”

“Well, yes,” said Dad, “but I was thinking of something even more important than eyes or ears. What we need is faith—faith in Jesus, who’s in control of everything even though we can’t see Him. Some people refer to it as ‘blind faith,’ but it’s not blind at all. It’s faith in a living God who loves us, died for us, and promises to help us and guide us.”

Eliza grinned. “Just like bats! Bats aren’t really blind—they just depend on something better than what they can see to guide them.”

“Exactly,” said Dad. “Bats depend on their ears to help them fly safely at night, and we need to depend on Jesus to keep us safe—even during the dark times of our lives when we don’t understand why things happen or what God’s plan is. At times like that, we can rest in our faith that Jesus has given us eternal life and will always be with us.”

“So I guess we’re like bats because we rely on something better than what we can see,” said Benjamin.

“Right,” said Eliza. “We rely on Jesus!”

–Tanya Ferdinandusz

How about you? Do you have faith in Jesus? The things you can see that make you feel secure—food, shelter, possessions, even friends and family—can only go so far. People make mistakes, and the things you have can’t help you when bad things happen. Only Jesus can give you eternal security. Though you can’t see Him, He cares about you and will always be with you, even in difficult times. Live by faith and trust Him to guide you day by day.

Today's Key Verse: We walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Live by faith