My New Lenses

2 Corinthians 4:16

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

The Bible is full of references to people being "blind, with scales on their eyes, unable to see." When we become a Christian, we are given the ability to see things that we were, quite literally, blind to before our salvation.

Isaiah 44:18, 20

"They do not know nor understand;
For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot understand."

"He feeds on ashes;
A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?'"

This scripture from Isaiah is referring to a man who cuts down a tree, and with part of the wood he makes an idol. With the rest of the wood he builds a fire and roasts meat. But then he bows down and worships the idol. And he is unable to even see that the idol is a lie, it is made out of the same piece of wood he just used to build a fire. He is figuratively and literally, BLIND.

I like to think of salvation and sanctification this way. When you are saved you receive sight. And with that vision you can see well enough to get along. Your blindness is removed, and the world is made visible to you. But it is still not entirely clear. Some things are fuzzy, you can't quite make them out, maybe you aren't quite sure what you are looking at all the time.

As time goes on, and the process of sanctification progresses, it is like you get prescription contact lenses, and you see the truth, the true reality of life, more clearly than you did before. You see things in light of God's truth, not the lies that the world spins. Gradually, as you study God's word and learn more about Him, the strength of the prescription increases, and the world around you becomes less fuzzy. You start to see details that you missed before. You might see further into the distance than you could previously. OR maybe you begin to look at the things that are very close to you and see them with new clarity.

My contact lenses of sanctification have allowed me to see both the far and near more clearly. I see the things near to me; like my sin, my behavior patterns, my day to day choices and priorities. And if they are in error, I can SEE that I need to change them. That kind of vision has taken hard work. But God has been so gracious to me, allowing me to see it bit by bit, so that I have not been overwhelmed by it.

But it is the long distance sight that has had a really dramatic effect on the way I perceive everything. That is what the verse at the beginning of this post is referring to. I have begun to see eternity. I have started to view everything that happens to me, those around me, and the world at large in light of eternity. I suppose there could be a danger in that. We certainly don't want to stop living our daily lives, or minimize the struggles and pain that we go through in this life. But we have eternity waiting for us. An eternity of celebration, joy, peace, delight, pure love, supreme satisfaction, rejoicing and worshiping. We will never be parted from those we love. There will be no endings, no goodbyes, no separation, no longings or unmet desires. Everything will be better than we are even able to imagine right now!

When I focus on eternity, the problems of today seem less important. The stresses become less threatening. The challenges are already overcome. That potential disaster lurking on the horizon may descend on me, but it won't last! Eternity in heaven will last. "For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

These new contacts I have are pretty amazing. I just pray that they keep getting stronger. I want my vision to grow to the point of crystal clarity.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art--
thou my best thought by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, they presence my light.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
may I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.



Ephesians 4:23

"and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

Ephesians 5:8

"For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light"