20/20 Vision
／Doreen Szeto
I don't have 20/20 vision. My eyesight isn't very good...I guess I'm the stereotypical Chinese person. I blame it on studying too much. I had to start wearing glasses in 4th grade. I decided I didn't like the way I looked, but they were a necessity for me to see. By the time I entered high school, my wish came true- I got contact lenses! I could see just as well, and I didn't need to concern myself with my appearance.
So what does this have to do with Christianity? Let me ask you: regardless of whether you have good physical vision, what is your spiritual vision like? Can you see 20/20, with your eyes on God and His will? Or are you nearsighted and unable to focus? Are some things blurry? Does your perspective match God's?
I confess that I'm not spiritually a perfect 20/20, either. I honestly don't think any of us can claim that title, although many may come close. So why work to achieve an impossible goal? Because Jesus told us, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) Once we make God's way our way, He will bless us.
We can't see the future. We are only capable of remembering what was in the past and seeing what is in the present. Only God can see the "Big Picture" - everything in eternity. Shouldn't we trust Him to know what's best? So why is it, when He tells us to do something, we choose to do otherwise? We should have faith in the One who sees and knows all. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)
Only God can provide the "glasses" to correct our vision. Some of us may worry about how we look when He does so. "Do I look like a Jesus freak?" "What if my friends laugh at me?" Only when we truly look to God, to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2) can we have 20/20 vision. At those times we don't have to concern ourselves with what others think. After all, "the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
Where is your focus? Is it on God's way, or are you concentrated on your personal will? Let's look in the Bible, God's prescription for 20/20 vision, for our guidance. Don't you want 20/20 vision? I know I do.
