New Eyes to See

For years I prayed for a healing miracle for my eyes. From the time I was in junior high school I had worn corrective lenses for myopia (near-sightedness), but the condition had continued to worsen until my vision was no longer fully correctable. I could see, but not clearly.

In 2000 I heard about a new procedure that could reverse the effects of myopia and learned that I was a good candidate. In an amazing operation that took only about 10 minutes, my vision was restored to such a degree that I no longer needed lenses. I had received new eyes to see, and many things changed as I looked at the world differently.

A person who is totally blind in the natural can still have vision. Helen Keller (1880-1968), the well-known American lecturer, was both blind and deaf but was able to see past her darkness. Her life impacted the world as she accomplished things that were unbelievable for one with such a handicap.

But there is a realm beyond the natural–the eternal realm–that requires us to have new eyes. Paul encourages us to “look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18, NASB).

Do you have eyes for “things which are not seen”?

John the Baptist did. When he first saw Jesus in Bethany, where he was baptizing, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He was able to see Jesus not just as his cousin, Mary’s son, but as the long-awaited Messiah.

Like John, we are called to look at those around us with eyes that see the invisible. In marriage we often do the opposite, focusing on the temporal issues we deal with daily. But this short-
sightedness can cause us to overlook the intangible things we should see in our mates.

And what about our children? Do we see them as simply noisy intrusions into our schedules or as spiritual beings God has entrusted to us with destinies that were planned before the foundation of the world? Beholding them with eyes for the invisible will totally change daily life.

We are called to live in the spiritual, eternal realm. It is in this realm that we have the proper view–God’s view–of ourselves and others and are able to appropriate all God has for us. As Shirley Arnold points out in our cover story (p. 14), we cannot see the full extent of our inheritance unless we use our spiritual eyes.

For years I prayed that the eyes of my heart would be enlightened to see the hope of my calling and the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in me (see Eph. 18). I challenge you to pray this way, also. Your life will take on a completely different dimension as God corrects your vision and helps you to live with the eternal always in sight.