Sight is one of God’s most precious gifts to us. I have often wondered what it would be like to have that taken away. It would be a tragic loss not to be able to see your loved ones, the colors of nature, or the things in our path that we might stumble over without our sight. We would certainly miss everything that our eyesight had afforded us. Those who are born blind have no idea what they are missing. They live in a dark world surrounded by more darkness. They lean completely on their other senses and others to keep them from danger. For those of us who still retain our physical sight, there is a different kind of loss of vision that is worse than any physical loss. Until we see ourselves in the light of God’s eyes, we will suffer a greater loss.
As Christians in America, we tend to take our faith and our spiritual opportunities for granted. We have churches everywhere that give us an opportunity to worship with other believers. Yet many are closing their doors due to a lack of interest. Our spiritual vision has convinced us that God does not care whether we attend in person, watch on television, or simply think we are doing all right. For this, God gives us the prescription to improve our vision in Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” He tells us here that as we get closer to the time of Jesus’s return to take His children home, we are to attend church more. We are not only to attend more ourselves, but we are also to exhort, urge others to do the same. That is what I hope this devotion does for you.
Some are like Peter; they think their vision is better than it truly is. In Luke 22:31-34, we have the conversation between Jesus and Peter. “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.” Peter’s pride had affected his vision. He had convinced himself that he was not capable of betraying Christ. Instead of stopping and taking a long look into his heart, he proudly declares his allegiance. However, in a few hours, he denies Christ. Finally, his vision is clear, and he sees the fear and deception in his heart and seeks forgiveness. This seeing changes Peter’s life forever.
At the same time in Jesus’s life, we see another disciple whose vision is skewed. Judas, one who had been with Jesus like all the other disciples, betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. He thought in his own mind that he could gain wealth, go on his merry way, and all would end up okay. I do not believe he understood the magnitude of what he had done. His greed controlled his sight. After they arrested Jesus, he became remorseful and sought repentance, but it was too late. The deed was done. The agony of his soul was more than he could bear. When he could not undo what he had done, he hung himself. His vision returned, but the damage was done.
Matthew 27:3-5 “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
In both cases above, they thought they were seeing the situations clearly, but they were not. One repented, and it pushed him toward greatness for the Lord. The other waited too long to apply what was needed to give him a clear view, and he is still suffering because of his choices.
We must put safeguards in place in our lives to keep this from happening to us. It is easy to look at others and think we are doing pretty well. The problem is that our standard is skewed because it’s other people, not Jesus. While I may have better vision than someone else, it does not mean that mine is good. We can quickly become like the one Jesus spoke of in Luke 6:41-42 “And why behold thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceive not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholds not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.” For good spiritual vision, we must see things through the lens of scripture. It does not matter what others think or do; God’s word is the standard. We have a personal responsibility for our own souls, and to neglect it is no one’s fault but our own. When we stand before God one day, and we all will, we will have no excuse for not seeing our lives the way that God does. No one will be held accountable for our spiritual growth but us. In this new year, I challenge you to study the word, attend church every time there are services, keep a prayerful mindset, and, with God’s help, determine that you will see yourself more clearly than you ever have. Until we see ourselves the way that God does, we will not change for the better.
