I have worn eyeglasses for some time, and there is something that has always puzzled me. In my younger years (in other words, before glasses), I marveled at something that seemed to afflict many who wore them. If you looked carefully at the lenses, you could see so much filth! Dust, spots, all kinds of stuff that had to be, at the very least, distorting the image those folks were seeing. How could they not notice it?
I began wondering about whether these people could actually see, or still had their senses, to wear such dirty spectacles! Well, I wondered until I began wearing glasses, and guess what? Yes, the same thing happens to me, and at least my eye doctor tells me I can see. (The verdict on whether I still have my senses may not be quite as certain, however!) I have learned if things start to get blurry, to pull my glasses off and check them out, without them being right on my face. It’s amazing how dirty they can get from just wearing them. Once cleaned, all is clear again. Wait; let me go clean them now!
This is somewhat of a metaphor about life. How many times do we get caught up in something we know is wrong, and then, we wonder how we got there? It usually takes time, as Satan knows hitting us all at once doesn’t work. So, like dust building up on glasses, little by little temptations weaken our resistance and resolve. Over time, things may not seem as clear as they once were. Our desires get in the way and cause our view of life to be fuzzy. It can happen in imperceptible stages until we step back and look and see how bad our spiritual vision has become.
Sin stains our consciences. It can be weakened and defiled (1 Corinthians 8:7). If not corrected, it can continue to cause our spiritual vision to worsen until we become hardened by sin, defiled (Titus 1:15). How do we avoid this? How do we get back where we need to be, where we want to be?
Scripture gives us a clear vision of who we are, where we are and where we need to be. The Psalmist wrote, “In Your light we will see light” (Psalms 36:9). Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12).
We need more time in the Word, more time in prayer and more time in fellowship. The more we focus on the spiritual, the clearer our vision becomes of life, of where our lives are and what we need to live as we should and in fellowship with God. “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
What kind of lenses are you wearing as you go through life? Have they been cleansed by God, or are they stained by sin? Perhaps we need to step back and see how clear things are in our lives, to clean things up, to make sure we’re in the light. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless you fail the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
