20/20 Vision

                I was pretty fortunate to make it all the way through school without having to have glasses. My vision was not perfect, but it did not require corrective lenses. Just before I went off to college, I had my eyes examined and the doctor prescribed a pair of reading glasses. He knew that I was going to have to do quite a bit of reading and that the stain would take a toll. So as a preventative measure he prescribed a pair of reading glasses to ease the strain. I tried them for a while, but I didn’t like them, so I stopped using them.

                After I had begun working as an Associate Pastor, I again visited an eye doctor. I told him about the reading glasses and he chided me for not using them. He told me that had I used them, my eyes would have been stronger. So he prescribed a slightly stronger pair of glasses. I used them on and off, but without much regularity.

                A couple of years ago, I again visited the eye doctor. At this point I was looking for reading glasses. Instead I was prescribed a pair of transition lenses that I was to wear all of the time. I faithfully wore them for about a week, then I stopped. I had a hard time finding the right focal point, and consequently they made me feel a little queasy. I still use them while I am driving at night or in dim light. I have also gone out and purchased multiple pairs of simple reading glasses that I keep scattered throughout my office and at home; wherever I normally read.

                I have been reading several books by Larry Osborne. I have enjoyed his conversational style and his perceptive insights into ministry. One of his books deals with the challenges and pitfalls of church leadership. As I read, I felt like someone had given me a pair of corrective glasses. I began to see some things more clearly than I had before. When I finished the book, I remarked that I wish I had read it ten years ago. It would have been so helpful for me to see what I was missing.

                Spiritually we all need corrective lenses. Because of sin, our vision is distorted. We do not see life clearly. Instead our vision is fuzzy and often leads us in the wrong direction. When the Holy Spirit  comes into our lives, He acts as a spiritual eye doctor. He diagnoses our problems and them prescribes the appropriate corrections. He uses the Bible, as an pair of spiritual eye glasses, to help us to see life more clearly. But if we don’t put on those spiritual glasses, they will do us no good.

                Paul tells us in 2 Timothy, that the Bible is God’s way of correcting our vision. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 The help we need to see more clearly is available to us. It is up to us to put on the glasses.

                One of the things that keeps us from putting on our spiritual glasses is negative peer pressure. It is pretty common today for children to get glasses pretty early in life. For the majority of them it is no big deal. But when I was a child, wearing glasses was an invitation for verbal abuse. Consequently, many children who could have benefitted from wearing their glasses conveniently left them at home. The same is true spiritually. We are swayed by the negative peer pressure of our society, so we avoid putting on our spiritual glasses. Paul tells us that we need to have the courage to buck the trend.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

                Another thing that keeps us from putting on our spiritual glasses is our desire to fit in and be like everyone else. We allow the current trends and fashions of our day to dictate how we will think and act. In fact, rather than avoiding glasses, we put on cultural glasses that shape our vision. The cure for this is to refocus our vision. It is a little like having corrective eye surgery.

                Many people today develop cataracts on their eyes. These form slowly over time, but eventually obscure a person’s vision. At a certain point they have to be removed, if the person is going to see properly.  Sin causes us to develop spiritual cataracts. Because the process is slow, we don’t often realize what is happening. But when we become aware that our vision is getting clouded, it is time to take action.

                The writer of Hebrews calls us to take the steps we need to take to regain our vision. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

                All of us want to believe that we have 20/20 vision. The reality is that without corrective lenses our vision is distorted. We all need glasses to see clearly, and I am not talking about the kind made of plastic and glass.

Psalm 119:18

    Open my eyes that I may see

        wonderful things in your law.