Uncorrected Vision!

He never lost sight of where he has headed. Hebrews 12:2 The Message

Most of us know someone in our lives, maybe even ourselves, who have had cataract surgery. The one comment I hear without fail from these folks is, “I can’t believe how well I can see the details and color of the leaves! I had forgotten how beautiful they are!” What a miracle to be able to see the world as God made it again!

When we let our vision go uncorrected we find ourselves with a skewed outlook on so many things in this life from the beauty of nature to the beauty of life in general. The story is told of a man who was getting his windshield washed at a filling station (so we know this story is old). When the attendant finished, the man complained that he had done a terrible job and wanted it done again. The attendant obliged, but still the frustrated man complained that the windshield was not clean. The man’s wife who was sitting next to him, reached over, took his glasses, wiped them, and gave them back to him. The attendant had been doing his job all along, it was the man who had the vision problem. He had uncorrected vision.

Spiritually speaking, our vision determines what we see and how we see it. When our vision is uncorrected we can see jealousy and envy and become resentful of the blessings of others. When we see only fear and unbelief, and we limit God and what He can do for us. When we see only selfishness, we tend to put ourselves first and others suffer. When we see only negativity and cynicism, people avoid us because of our attitude.

The Bible says that “Because Jesus never lost sight of where he was headed, He could put up with anything along the way.” He had a vision and a passion. It is that vision which fuels our passion. When we are dealing with an uncorrected vision, we sometimes find our passion waning. Passion is spiritual energy, and without it we can become limp and bland.

Before God called the prophet Isaiah to a position of leadership, He corrected his vision. Israel’s constant rebellion was putting them in jeopardy with God, and they needed a leader with a clear vision. First, God allowed Isaiah to see clearly His glory and power. The same thing applies to us in this life. We will need a vision of this glory and limitless power in order to complete the job that God has called us to do. It will take a lot more than a job description and some basic skills. It will take corrected vision!

The second thing God did was to correct Isaiah’s vision of himself. God wanted Isaiah to know, and he wants us to know that we are no better than the people we are called to reach. Until we can see ourselves realistically, honestly, and humbly in relation to God and others, our mission, whatever it may be, won’t succeed.

Finally, God responded to Isaiah’s humility by sending an angel to touch his lips with purifying fire and say, “Your sin is taken away.” God doesn’t call us to be perfect, but when we have corrected vision, He rewards our efforts with success regardless of the odds! Our sins are taken away!

Just like the man needed to have his glasses cleaned in order to correct his vision, sometimes we all need to wipe away the contamination all around us which can cloud our heart and mind. We all need to renew our passion. Once we line up our passion with God’s plan, there will be no stopping us!

According to mythology, when St. Patrick was a missionary in Ireland in the fifth century, King Logaire of Tara decreed that no one was allowed to light any fires until a pagan festival was begun by the lighting of a fire on Slane Hill. In a move of defiance against this pagan ritual, St. Patrick did light a fire, and rather than execute him, the king was so impressed with his devotion that he let Patrick continue his missionary work. Three centuries later a monk named Dallien Forgall wrote the poem which we know as Be Thou My Vision. Mary Elizabeth Byrne and Eleanor Hull comiserated to write the text and music of our well known hymn. It is a hymn and prayer that in every moment of our lives, God would be our vision above all else.

Be Thou My Vision O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me save that thou art – thou my best thought by day or by night; waking or sleeping, they presence my light.