How you see it

♦ December 23, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

I so appreciate good eye sight. I remember going on a course for disability awareness, and we were given various pairs of glasses to wear, which mimicked eye conditions, and we had to find our way round with limited vision. It was hard! It alters what you perceive –  you edge forward with uncertainty; you can’t tell what coins you are passing over; you can’t drive a car, can’t see the number of the bus, if you can even see it coming. But it also really knocks your confidence. Without being able to see others’ faces clearly, how do you know how they are really reacting to you?

The same applies in a way, in the spiritual realm, as Matthew 6:22-23 points out.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Matthew 6:22-23

A healthy outlook makes for healthy perception. We may be seeing the world through a haze of pain, bitterness or anxiety, for example, which affects our walk in the world. Our reactions may be clouded by our previous encounters, so we judge unfairly, get snappy or feel upset.

Sometimes (sadly not always) people with visual impairment can have treatments that bring healing. It must be amazing to suddenly be able to see right again, after years of struggle. Likewise, Jesus is able to bring healing to anyone who will submit their lives to him, accept that they need help, and ask for him to come and bring his light and life into their heart.

The biggest difficulty is for those who don’t believe they need help. They’ve managed so long with limited vision, they don’t recognise the problem, or don’t want to ask for help. There are so many people around who are hurt, struggling, oppressed, shackled by their own history. And sometimes we don’t want the changes to life that the help would bring. Feeling sorry for ourselves, we may feel justified in being over-sensitive and somehow limited – ‘they haven’t suffered what I’ve had in my life…’ And that can get quite comfortable, thank you.

Jesus died to bring healing to all aspects of life – sin, sorrow, suffering… Whilst the circumstances of life may not always be perfect, he can change how we view them. He can heal the wounds so we can live as victors, not victims.  Let go of the past and ask Jesus to help you see clearly and let your light shine.

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