“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (John 4:29, ESV).

     Is love blind? This is the question Nick and Vanessa Lachey have been posing on the Netflix show they host. Love Is Blind is a social experiment where single men and woman seek out love and get engaged before ever meeting in person. By the way, I know of one man who went out on a blind date. It didn’t start out that way until she brought out the pepper spray.

     The phrase, love is blind, first appeared around the year 1400, in The Merchant’s Tale by the English author Geoffrey Chaucer. Blind love simply means that two people love each other beyond external appearances. Their mutual love is based on many factors.

     However, Will Moss claims that love is not blind. Love sees more and not less because it is willing to see beyond. This is the style of love the Scriptures call agape. Agape is the lens through which God clearly sees all of our imperfections, yet loves us unconditionally.

     The Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at a public well quickly realized that though Jesus knew everything about her sordid past, he forgave and loved her anyway. Jesus demonstrated that true love doesn’t ignore the problems another person has, but neither does agape love dismiss the individual because of their problems. When you read the entire story of his interaction with the Samaritan woman, you will discover that Jesus actually invests himself in becoming part of the solution to her problems.

     The good news is that Jesus accepts you just the way you are. The better news is that he loves you too much to leave you that way. Not only does he see who you are, he sees within you even more clearly the great potential that lies within.