Vision: Keeping Jesus In Focus

According to the US Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, there are seven million persons with vision impairments in America; one million of them are considered legally blind. Most vision impairments can be corrected with eyewear or surgery. In instances where correction is not an option, accommodations can be made regardless of the level of impairment.

Scientifically speaking, vision fundamentally relies on a focal point.  The focal point of light allows clear vision.  Where there is no focused light, there is darkness or obscurity.  The same is true spiritually.

In my recent study of the miracles of Jesus in the book of John, I was drawn to His focus on pleasing the Father.  Jesus always stayed completely submitted to the will of the Father.  He operated purely on His divine timeline.  His task was not easy.  Philippians 2:8 tells us that “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He kept His eyes on His purpose.  But for the joy set before Him—obedience to the Father no matter the cost—He endured so that we would not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12 reminds us that Jesus should be our focal point, just as He was for the many men and women from Abel through the judges and the prophets who had gone before the New Testament believers.  They had placed their complete faith in the one true and living God and their hope in the Christ to come.  They endured even though they were tortured, scourged, stoned, sawn in two, afflicted, destitute and wandered in deserts, mountains, caves and holes in the ground.   They had hope even before Christ came.  And they never stopped hoping.  We shouldn’t either.

We must be careful to not become blinded by our situations and circumstances.  Losing sight of our true vision–pleasing the Lord in all we do­—is detrimental to our spiritual wellbeing, and just as with our physical sight, can leave us prone to darkness.  Simply put – Jesus is the Light of our vision!

Proverbs 29:18 tells us, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” With Christ our Lord as our focal point, we can endure and complete the works to which we are called with confidence.  May we always remember to look through the corrective lenses of the Master, our hope, our help, our Light.

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision."—Helen Keller