Vision
“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see” (2 Kings 6:16-17).
A few years ago I had a problem with the small muscles around my right eye that caused double vision. This was particularly disturbing, as it occurred suddenly whilst I was driving in the Swiss Alps! It took some months to recover, during which time I could not drive. I had to face endless questions about where my parrot was and there were very poor imitations of Long John Silver. But the positive side was that it made me think about the preciousness of our sight and the things that go wrong when it is distorted. And it made me consider our spiritual vision and the problems we can face.
Here are some physical eye-problems that provide interesting illustrations of how our spiritual vision can be distorted:
Diplopia is the word for double vision. The Lord warns us that we cannot serve God and riches (Matthew 6:24) and James reminds us of the dangers of being double-minded (James 1:8).
Cataracts develop slowly. They cause cloudy vision, the fading of colours and the diminishing of sight at night. As we get older, we are more likely to suffer from these. It takes surgery to restore clear sight. Sometimes things come into our lives slowly but introduce a distance between us and the Lord. Over time this develops and the joy of our salvation is lost and the Lord has to intervene to remove what spoils our communion with Him (Revelation 2:4).
Myopia is near- or short-sightedness. We cannot see distant objects clearly, only those which are close. Selfishness is something which affects us all. It makes my interests paramount. This can even emerge in Christian service and ministry, when we have little room for others and their contributions.
Hyperopia is far-sightedness. Distant objects are clear, but objects close to us are blurred. It is the opposite of near-sightedness. We can ignore, or count of less importance, the responsibilities we have towards people and things close to us, and become more focussed on remote things, which exclude others but satisfy our interests.
Retinitis Pigmentosa is a disease of the eye, and a cause of tunnel vision. Sufferers lose their peripheral vision. This illustrates obsessive behaviour in spiritual matters.
Glaucoma is caused by pressure and can result in the loss of sight if the pressure is not normalised. Pressure in our lives is real and can overwhelm us as we try to carry too many burdens, especially those God does not ask us to carry (1 Peter 5:7).
God wants us to have opened eyes and to see clearly by faith. Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened. By “looking unto Jesus” we bring every aspect of our lives into focus. We don’t have mixed motives, our fellowship with God is not undermined, we are not limited by selfishness, we have a balanced care for those people and things which are our responsibility, we are not obsessed by secular or spiritual service, and we are able to bear one another’s burdens. Seeing the Lord brings peace and power to our lives. Over the next few days I want explore the practical application of “Looking unto Jesus”, that is, what this means, and how we enjoy the clear, spiritual vision the Lord wants us to have and the benefits which come from it.
