Without the ability to see with one’s eyes, because of early child development in the womb, is a tragic thing for any person to have happen to them, but if a person was able to see prior to losing their eyesight, this is worse than tragic—it is heartbreaking.
Seeing God’s incredible handiwork, such as the majesty and wonder of places like the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert in the state of Arizona , will take a person’s breath away. Other places like the superb splendor of Yosemite National Park in California; or just observing Mother Nature’s display during a lightning storm; or watching huge waves crash onto the shoreline of a beach in beautiful Maui, Hawaii, are all magnificent and pleasing to the sense of sight.
The eye gate is God’s portal through which we enjoy His creation. Without it, the whole body suffers. Losing one’s vision would be extremely life changing and terrible beyond words for anyone to endure. The defining characteristics and awesomeness of Mother Nature need the natural sense of sight to be able to share her grandeur with us. To behold the beauty of God’s creation is most important to any person not having sight.
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself spending the rest of your life in total darkness; never being able to take in the things around you that you have perhaps taken for granted.
If you knew you were going to lose your eyesight in one year, what might you look at and appreciate? What places would you visit? Would you go to the shopping mall and study faces as they pass by you? Would you take notice of other people’s needs and minister to them? How important is vision? We cannot realize how important until it’s gone.
My wife’s mother and uncle underwent surgery to remove cataracts from their eyes a few years back. After the surgeries they were both incredibly happy, because their vision had been restored to them. They see things clearly now—blurred vision is gone. They no longer stumble and trip over things in their path of travel. Colors are superlative and brilliant.
Medical technology and new methods of surgical procedures have advanced greatly over the years; coming to the forefront like never before. It is wonderful that there are surgical procedures that restore lost sight.
Vision can be restored to the soul of man where there was once blindness. Sight is given through the new birth; the miracle of being born again through Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus as the sacrifice for sin, and asking Him to forgive us of our sins, open spiritual eyes that were blinded, because of sin. No longer does darkness rule the day, because when we step into the light of God’s love, 20/20 vision is given.
The sin that once bound, causing spiritual blindness, has been forgiven and removed from the soul. The scales that caused loss of sight—the cataracts of sin, are now gone. We see not only the beauty around us, but the blindness of others as they stumble through life; unsure of their next step; needing someone to show them the way.
With vision now provided and direction for life made clear; walking without fear of tripping or falling is the new walk of the Christian. Past blindness is gone, because of the healing that was provided through the greatest physician of all—Jesus Christ.
Now that the roadway ahead can be seen clearly, care must be taken to keep this vision strong and healthy. Anything worth having is worth fighting to keep once it is in our possession. It needs to be carefully guarded against the deceptions of the devil. He wants us in darkness, but God supplies the light, His Son, who keeps us in the radiance of God’s love.
Occasionally in a Christian’s walk of faith, they suffer pangs from the trickery of Satan. Their eyes, for whatever reason, begin to wander and behold the glitter of a menagerie of unsavory pleasures in the world. Deception looms brightly before the unsuspecting, which causes troubled vision to occur. Sight becomes hampered and the ability to see clearly is strained; losing sight of the goal ahead. Heaven becomes blurred and blindness develops; causing a day to day struggle of trying to find the way. Spiritual eyes are dim and vision is now impaired.
Everything under the sun can be blamed for lost vision, but when commitment, faithfulness, and accountability subside, fading sight is the result. It is sad when vision is lost do to the lack of concern and determination that’s required to keep vision crisp and clear. It takes hard work and dedication of every child of God to maintain proper vision. It’s a battle, but through Jesus our Lord we are victorious.
Just as the eyes need rest to insure good health, the spiritual eyes of Christians require proper care to maintain good, healthy vision; without strain.
The Bible says in (Proverbs 29:18), “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.” Vision and the work of God go hand in hand. When we keep our spiritual eyes stimulated by reading God’s Word, and maintain a close communion with the Lord through prayer, our sight remains strong and clear. When we cease to read and pray is when our vision becomes weakened, which leaves opportunity for contaminates of the world to enter, bringing the unsightly and unhealthy growth of worldly cataracts that impair vision.
When concern and discipline waver, and a person becomes lax in governing what is allowed to enter the eye gate, this apathy creates indifference, and vision for the soul begins to suffer. What the eyes behold have a direct bearing on how the eyes of the soul react. Vision can be kept pure and healthy, or it can be allowed to observe negative influences that promote poor sight. The choice rests with the person doing the looking.
We must guard against losing the vision that God imparted to us through the death of His Son at Calvary , by suppressing any attempt that Satan devises to keep us in darkness. Blindness always wants to creep back into our life, but we need not allow it to happen.
When we purpose in our mind to let Jesus maintain proper vision, this act of submission restores the soul to a right relationship with God. When this happens, no longer is there a sense that our communion with God is strained. Shadows dissipate, because we are looking into the brightness of His glory. His eyes are looking directly into ours and ours into His.
As are eyes remain fixed on Jesus we see more clearly those people around us that are blind and groping in their struggle to find their way through life—blind as bats in daytime light. We see others as God sees them; with love and compassion. A wonderful thing takes place in our spiritual insight. God restores vision for lost souls.
The desire to restore vision to hurting people, the same vision that we experienced, becomes paramount within us. The needs of visually impaired people become apparent when we look through the eyes of Jesus. We see the failing vision in others and feel compelled to put forth a godly effort to restore sight to them before they perish into utter darkness without God.
Introducing people that are blind to the brilliance of God’s radiance should be the challenge and vision of every Believer. There is no greater blessing than being used as a conduit that God can shine through in restoring the vision and renewed hope to those that are without sight.
Written by,
Papa Boyd
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