Eyes That See

I had a much needed, overdue, sight-saving, surgical procedure this past week. I had been putting off, this the second surgery on the same eye, for several years and of late the vision in that eye was getting weaker and I was advised the longer I wait the less vision I would regain after surgery. The only pain involved is in my wallet and the irritating rub of the stitches every time I blink or move the eye. It’s like a sticker in your boot you can’t find. The medications help and they’ll soon dissolve. Here’s looking at you, better I hope.

[2 Corinthians 4:16-18] “Therefore we do not loss heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” God has always desired his people to be a people of vision. By this I’m not referring to dreams or revelations, but rather to farsightedness. One of the greatest dangers which threaten our spiritual growth, both individually and collectively, is the inability or unwillingness to look ahead. Our eyes are cast downward toward self rather than lifted up toward others and the marvelous potential which lies ahead. Spiritually speaking, we need to be a people of uplifted eyes; a people of vision. Jesus told his disciples, “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest?’ I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together” (John 4:35-36). As they looked upon the crop in the field Jesus noted it would be four more months before it would be ready for the reaper, but the field of souls laid out before them is always ready for the reaper. He was challenging them to look ahead ...to be men of vision. As we sow the seed (God’s Word) we need to perceive the harvest! A farmer who sows seed with no concept of a future harvest is a walking dilemma. We are perplexed as to why someone would sow seed in the ground and never expect a harvest. But, if we are not a people of spiritual vision, we ourselves are nothing than a walking dilemma. Our Lord seeks to impress upon us the importance of “lifting up our eyes” to that which yet lies ahead. When we, God’s people, lift up spiritual eyes we should behold before us not a field of worthless, godless humanity, but rather a field which is white unto harvest. By lifting up our eyes we become a people who see not the pitfalls and the problems, but who see the potential. To a man or woman of vision, in every sinner there is a potential saint; after every race a prize; after every battle a victory. Our vision, thus, reveals our responsibility, which when accepted becomes our privilege. By sowing God’s Word we have the privilege of reaping and sharing in the joy of the great harvest of souls in eternity. It is so easy to look only to ourselves, but in so doing we cease to be a people of vision. Let us resolve to lift up our eyes to the needs of others. Look about you with spiritual sensitivity, and then sow God’s Word, perceiving, even before it occurs, the great harvest that the Lord will provide. “By His Strength”; author unknown:  “God has given us the wings to fly across the land, Bearing witness to His Word and offering his hand. Bringing faith to those who mourn and comforting the weak, Giving glory to the One whose gentle touch we seek, Building bridges to His love that others will not cry. God has given us the wings and by His strength we’ll fly.” Word!