One of the best gifts that we have ever received from the Lord is our eyesight. Because we can see, we can fully appreciate the beauty of the world we are living in. Therefore, we need to take good care of our eyes. The Lord Jesus emphasized this need when he said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:22-23). Because our eyes are part and parcel of our body, he gave us perfect 20/20 vision at birth. With it, we can see clearly and enjoy the light that it brings to our whole body. Our eyes also serve as a window to our inner being. Whatever we see with our eyes will affect our spirit, soul and body.
The spiritual significance of our vision was emphasized by King Solomon when he said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18). This vision is more than what the physical eye can see. It looks into the future and sees things through the Scriptures. If we do not have this eye that can see through the future, we will have no guiding light and may stumble and fall along the way. It is for this reason that Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Our vision of the future is translated into goals – things that we desire to accomplish. For us to be able to achieve our visions, we have to be focused. King Solomon said, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you” (Prov. 4:25). In our spiritual walk, we look forward to spending eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. It is a vision that believers have set in their hearts. Therefore, the apostle admonished believers, saying, “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” (Heb. 12:2).
But while we have 20/20 vision, it can be blurred by many things that will come our way. Foremost of these is darkness. Just as our physical eyesight can be blurred by darkness, our spiritual eyes can be dimmed by the spiritual darkness of evil. Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19-20). Jesus said further, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light” (John 11:9-10). Therefore, we should not take part in the unfruitful work of darkness but expose them into the light.
Planks in the eyes, or pride, can also blur our vision. This was emphasized by the Lord Jesus when he said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3-4). Our pride can distract us from focusing our eyes on the vision that God has given to us. We focus more on people and their weaknesses rather than on ourselves and how we can press on towards our goal. When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, saying that their pride blinded them, they disagreed. For this Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:41). Unless we humbly admit that we have sinned, we shall not be forgiven.
The other thing that can blur our eyes is fear. When we are terrified, we tend to focus on that which terrifies us. We take our eyes off the Lord, as was the case of the apostle Peter. When Peter saw Jesus walking on water, he asked if he too can walk towards him, and Jesus said, “Come!” Fully focused, he started walking, “but when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matt. 14:30). His fear caused him to sink. Similarly, when the Israelites were on their way to the Promised Land and being led by the Lord through the Shekinah glory cloud, they were terrified at the sight of the Egyptian army chasing them. They lost their focus and were terrified. But Moses said, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:13-14). Indeed, we only need to be still and remain focused for us to see our great deliverance. The Lord will deliver us, and the problems we see today, we will not see again if we trust in the Lord. Hallelujah!