“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1: 18
Do you wear glasses or contacts? And wish that you could see well without them?
I have worn glasses since I was 9 yrs old and I can’t see far without them. I remember losing them a few times and until my new ones came in, I’d be squinty and frustrated!
When I wear my glasses, I am mesmerized by how clearly I can see! All the letters on the board and scenery outside are so detailed and fresh! I always wondered what it would be like to wake up with clear eyesight. Someday!
I think it’s important to keep your eyes focused whether you wear glasses or not. Keep your eyes on the prize they say. What’s the prize anyway? Is it money, popularity or a title? Those are all good prizes! I like money and I like being liked! I’ll run for miles just to get a medal. I’ve cleaned floors and toilets for green cash but…
Somehow, with all those prizes I am not entirely satisfied, but for only in the moment. You too? Listen closely and I’ll show you what satisfies.
When I was a little child, I had the most dear things taken from me. My parents, my house, nice clothes, good food and my identity were taken at 6 years of age. I longed for decades to be secure in who I was.
I became a Christ follower at 15 but didn’t feel much different until I was much older. It wasn’t until I connected my past to my present that I knew I needed to experience God differently. I needed to become a child that snuggled close to her daddy and focus on his love with no strings attached.
That was unbelievably hard but such a simple concept. I guess it’s not simple when you have no reference to go by. My prayers up to him were so rote. Legalistic even. And hard.
Each day and hour I had to reparent myself in his arms. Some days I failed and couldn’t focus. Other days I felt a release of perfection and performance. It has been transforming on how I see my father.
His presence is holy and healing! He is THE prize!. From seeing a father that would pull the rug from beneath me, to a father who wraps his wings of protection over me time and again is miraculous!
I do not have perfect eyesight. But 20/20 vision is hindsight anyways. We live life forward and learn backwards. We learn from the blind man in John 9 that his sight was healed instantly, through mud and saliva. Our mud is our wounds from past and present. And sometimes God heals instantly, but usually he takes us through a process of growth that heals slowly.
There are days still that I get bleary eyed from crying, but really? They don’t stay long. My father collects them and uses them for his purpose! I tell him how I feel, if I’m frail or fanciful! I’m free to be me in His presence!
And I’m thankful for my glasses these days, focusing is hard enough without them. But with Jesus he rearranges my sight with His Word so that I can see perfectly clearly. Amen for 20/20 hindsight!
John 9: 1-7 “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”
Proverbs 4: 25 “Let your eyes look directly ahead. And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.”
Philippians 3: 12-14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”