Text:

‘And why worry about a speck in the eye of a brother when you have a board in your own? Should you say, ‘Friend, let me help you get that speck out of your eye,’ when you can’t even see because of the board in your own?  Hypocrite! First get rid of the board. Then you can see to help your brother’ – Matthew 7:3-5 Living Bible

Thought:

I thought it was about time my eyes were tested again. Several years had lapsed since the last test and a newly developed sharp pain in my right eye stirred me into action. Being over 60, I now qualified for my first free eye test! Able to get an appointment for the same day, off I went.

What a thorough examination in such a short space of time. They even took pictures of the backs of both eyes, which looked remarkably like a couple of Jupiter’s moons! Thankfully everything was fine, with no further deterioration or the need to replace my reading glasses with stronger lenses. Home I went rejoicing, like the car that passed its MOT without any faults!

Eyesight is so valuable and delicate, a wonderful creation. Severe problems like glaucoma and blindness cause such distress. However there are also many common disorders and these can remind us of spiritual truths.

My eyes are affected by presbyopia, which means they cannot focus as quickly on close-up objects. It’s similar to hyperopia or far-sightedness when people can clearly see far away things but have trouble focussing on close up objects like reading a book.

An easy solution is to get magnifying glasses. Sometimes we feel that God’s not really close, but that could be the time to ‘Magnify the Lord’¹ with thanksgivings, and you will soon clearly see that He is there with you.

Some suffer from myopia or near-sightedness which means they can’t see what’s far away. This is what faith is for, to help keep us on the right pathway, even when we can’t see clearly what lies ahead.

Others have trouble with cataracts – dense, cloudy areas that slowly form in the lens of the eye, that block out the vision. It’s tragic when we lose sight of God, particularly as we get older. Thankfully cataracts can usually be safely removed and eyesight restored.

“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart” the popular hymn declares. Maybe your vision of the Lord has become blurred or even shut out altogether. Thank God, He will perform corrective surgery if you ask Him prayerfully.

One further problem to consider is dry eyes – when the tear-ducts aren’t producing enough tears to lubricate the eye. One solution is to use eye drops. Jesus, speaking to the church in Laodicea said, ‘Anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see’. ² 

It’s easy to end up de-sensitised by what’s happening in the world, accepting sinful practices as normal living, when once we would have been moved to tears in prayer. Sometimes we say, “As long as I’m alright, that’s all that matters.”

Jesus wept over Jerusalem and the destruction it would suffer only a few years later ³, because the Jewish people had become blinded about their real spiritual condition and as to who Jesus really was.

Our once “Christian” Britain is heading rapidly into spiritual decline, due to the passing of laws that contradict God’s commandments for godly living, but I believe that “tears” of humility and repentance can change things for the better.

Finally, the day after my eye test, Jenny and I were driving in the car. We came to the speed restriction signs not far from our house (pictured below). “Do you know how I can see both those signs at once?” I asked Jenny. “I’ve got 20/20 vision.” Perfect!

¹ – Psalm 34:3, 69:30

² – Revelation 3:18

³ – Luke 19:41