LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD Part 2 Developing the Vision Beyond

When I think of the New Year, I ask myself, “Has your vision enlarged?” As we get physically older our vision often becomes dim and challenged in various ways. However, if we walk by faith, our spiritual vision to look beyond this world should become enlarged when it comes to the spiritual, unseen realm.

I have been wearing glasses since I was in the sixth grade. I do not have to wear glasses when I am reading or working on computer. When I am home it is not unusual to catch me without my glasses. The only time I wear them is to watch TV or when I go out in public, and sometimes I still leave them at home.

Through the years I have been learning a lot about the eye. Did you know the eye is fearfully and wonderfully made? In a sense it is a separate creation from the rest of the body, but the eye couldn’t function without the rest of the body. However, that is so for the makeup of the ear along with our incredible cells, DNA and each of the 10 systems of the body. In fact, understanding the uniqueness of each part of the body has caused me to understand better the function and workings of the many members of the Body of Christ. Although each believer has been created separately from the rest the body with their own callings and abilities, they can’t function alone, and without the head, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Body is useless (Psalm 139:14;1 Corinthians 12:12-24; Ephesians 4:11-16).

What I learned about the eye is that even though we need glasses to see long or short distances, the glasses hinder the eye from getting better. Glasses do not challenge the eyes; rather, they enable the eyes to become lazy because they do not have to work to focus or see something. Keep in mind the main purpose of the eye is to be able to focus on the terrain. The other thing I have learned about eyes is that sunglasses hinder the eyes from being healthy. Granted, there are always those who are sensitive to light but for most their eyes are made to take in light.

I used to wear glasses that turned dark out in the sun. The irritation for me with that particular feature was when I came in from the sunlight, it took a bit for the glasses to readjust. At times I would pull off the glasses in frustration and leave them laying on some counter.

I later learned that we must not wear sunglasses because our eyes take in valuable sunlight that benefits the whole body. It does wonders for our moods, uplifts one’s spirit and inspires the soul. Needless to say, I do not wear my glasses outside when working in the yard.

Recently, I have tried to keep my glasses off when watching TV. Due to Jeannette’s hearing challenges with different tones and losing hearing in one ear, we use closed captioning, so she doesn’t have to work at lip reading. I work hard to focus my eyes when I am reading the closed captioning to see if the print becomes clearer to me, and surprisingly enough my eyes seem to adjust at different times. I have to admit I have stigmatism which can cause the eyes to be fickle when it comes to how clear something will be.

Now you may wonder why I am spending so much time on the subject of eyes and glasses. It is because when it comes to our spiritual vision, the eyes of our soul work in much the same way as our physical eyes. Depending on how much we work our spiritual vision will determine how far we can see in and beyond this world.

When we come into this world, we are born in ignorance. The problem with ignorance is that it is darkness. Hosea 4:6 states, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” It is important to understand why ignorance persists in a person’s life. It is because they have rejected any real knowledge about God.

Note that this verse is also directed towards the priesthood who had the responsibility of teaching the Word of God and serving as intercessors. As believers we make up part of the priesthood, but the Lord clearly states if His people forget the responsibilities attached to their high calling that comes with the priesthood then He will not be able to bless their children, who will end up walking in greater ignorance (1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6).

The other thing we must note about the darkness caused by ignorance about God is that He will no longer wink at it (Acts 17:30-31). Ignorance often operates in superstition and fear. It is used as an excuse as to why man will not do what is right. Such a rebellious, independent person does not want to do what it takes to have right standing with God; therefore, they claim ignorance. Claiming ignorance in a matter is the way a person avoids any accountability.

In God’s kingdom we will be judged for what is right or wrong. However, the excuse of ignorance in such matters will not do. God has put within every man a sense, a conscious that there is a God and a right moral way of doing something. The Lord has given us His Word and His Spirit and when we stand before Him as our great judge, there will be no excuse for ignorance towards Him (Romans 1:20).

The Bible is clear that parents are to teach their children the moral commandments of God and to train them in the ways of righteousness (Deuteronomy 4:10; 6:7; 11:19; Proverbs 22:6). Since God has provided His Word, ignorance for His people is a choice. We must choose to know God by studying His Word and walking it out.

Godly wisdom comes out of experience that gleans from lessons that are usually learned the hard way. However, man’s natural tendency is to find shortcuts. Shortcuts for Christians consist of reading books about the Bible, clinging to the knowledge and experiences of others when it comes to God, and watching a movie or video about Jesus to maintain some type of knowledge about Him while assuming what they are seeing must be true because it fits in with the sentiment they have about Him.

We do not realize that our substitutes when it comes to really knowing God create filters that will keep us from knowing and seeing the real Jesus of the Bible. In fact, we are inundated with the filters of our times. These filters keep us from having clarity as to what is true and real. They also allow us to delude ourselves as to what is real to control the narrative of our reality and pursuits. We can adjust our understanding according to what is popular in the world, acceptable to the masses, and emphasized by the indoctrinators of the age.

Admittedly, we are living in very dark times. The chaos of our times causes overwhelming shadows. The dark clouds are blotting out the Son’s real light and glory even in religious places, the storms are creating an ominous sense, and the endless gray overcast of these days cause a spiritual weariness. It is clear we are living in dark times, but our spiritual eyes must never become accustomed to the ignorance of such darkness. We must see the darkness for what it is. The only way we can maintain such clarity is to walk by faith in the light of Christ.

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he”. What does it mean to have no vision? 1 Samuel 3:1 gives us insight about this subject, “And the child Samuel ministered into the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” The concept about open vision points to revelation. Due to sin in the Levitical priesthood, there was no prophetic revelation being unveiled to the people by the priests.

Prophecy points to forthtelling which has to do with where people are in their spiritual state and foretelling has to do with future events. When such prophecy is missing, people are not challenged to face the present in a victorious way and will have no knowledge of the ominous clouds of judgment on the horizon.

Revelation has to do with the unveiling of the greater depths of God’s truths. Man sees things from a limited perspective. God’s truths may be in black and white which points to “facts” that are one dimensional. However, Since God’s truths are eternal, they are far from being one dimensional. The carnal mind may grasp the facts, but it does not have the capacity to dive beyond its limited ability as it strives to keep one’s head above water by rationalizing only what it can see and understand according to its present knowledge (Romans 8:5-9; 1 Corinthians 2:11-14).

The Apostle John in Revelation set forth the revelation that each Christian should have to keep on the right path. The reason for saying this is because what we focus on will determine just where and how far our vision will reach. Clearly, we will and must focus on something to make any advancements in this life, but we must consider if what we are focusing on is temporary or eternal. Will it benefit us in the long run or cost us everything in the end?

One of the ways of fine-tuning your physical vision is to first focus on something close and once that becomes clear, you are then to focus on an object farther away from you until your eyes adjust to it. When it comes to Christians focusing on something close, that needs to be the Word of God. We must focus on it to properly read and study it to develop a clear understanding of what is eternal. We need to seek such understanding. But when it comes to focusing on something further away, this is where the Apostle John established the revelation we need to have before we can look forward to the city made by the hand of God (Hebrews 11:10). Revelation 1:1 states, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.”

When Peter declared that Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus clearly stated that the revelation came from heaven and not by his own understanding (Matthew 16:16-17). I maintain that if God’s truth has not been revealed to you by the Spirit of God, you still don’t possess it as being so. God’s truths are not confirmed by whether we agree with them, feel right about them, or understand them, they are confirmed by the Spirit who unveils it to us and will be reaffirmed by the Word of God.

The Spirit of God is the One who moved on prophets with prophecies, truths, warnings, and teachings. He is the inspiration behind the Written Word and the one who parts all spiritual darkness so that God’s people can clearly see and discern what is true (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).

How is your spiritual vision? Next month I will be dealing with the type of light that spiritual eyes not only see in, but are fine-tuned by, as the saint obediently walks in it.