For the remainder of the 2020 year Priceless will produce a series of articles entitled 20/20 Vision which challenge us with how we view the world. Are we seeing clearly? Are we seeing from God’s perspective?

The eye is an amazing organ. Light enters through the pupil. Then the lens focuses the light onto the retina, a lining of light-sensitive cells on the back of the interior of the eye. The retina converts light into electrical impulses that are sent to the optic nerve which carries these impulses to the brain. Rather a straight-forward process, but definitely an intricate design produced by a one-of-a-kind creator. A design that many scientists say is indicative of creative design which refutes evolutionary theory. The eye is an organ so important that to loose function of it is life-altering. Keeping it healthy and functioning properly is important and any problem with the quality of vision warrants an immediate  investigation into the problem. We all want to have 20/20 vision.

What exactly is 20/20 Vision? The website of the American Academy of Ophthalmology defines it this way: “A person with 20/20 vision can see what an average individual can see on an eye chart when they are standing 20 feet away.” It is a measure of your visual acuity, that is, how clear or sharp your vision is. The numbers represent how many feet you are from the chart and the distance at which an average person could stand to read that line. Twenty-twenty vision is not perfect vision it is average, and 20/30 is declining, while 20/15 is sharper than most. So in reality, a visual diagnosis compares your vision to that of others around the world.

But what about spiritually? What would spiritual 20/20 vision be? What is average? Do we want to be “just average” in our relationship with the Lord? Maybe we should have another way of designating spiritual sight. Where is our spiritual sight focused? What is it based on? What does the way we look at the world reveal about us spiritually?

The Bible has some important observations on eyes and seeing (as one would expect!)

• Our Spiritual vision should be focused on God’s words to us.

Proverbs 7:2 – Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

• Our human vision is not as accurate and wise as we think it is; spiritual vision must be based on a reverence for the Lord.

Proverbs 3:7 – Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.

• Spiritual vision looks at what God has put before us, not at our doubts or our past or our worries or obstacles or what other people say.

Proverbs 4:25 – Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

• Spiritual vision will allow us to be full of light. Worldly sight is like walking around in darkness.

Matthew 6:22 – The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Spiritual eyes allows God’s light to come in through the pupil and be focused through the lens of God’s word onto the retina of our souls so that the God-sensitive cells of our heart send impulses to our brain to see things clearly. When we have healthy spiritual eyes and are sensitive to this input, we walk in light and Spirit-directed wisdom. We won’t stumble around with human, fallible ideas, but will focus on His Word and react to what we see through spiritual eyes.

Our paths in life can them be directed by what we see. Proverbs 4:26-27 says, “Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” If we want a smoother path in life, if we desire a steadfast life built on substance, we must look with spiritual eyes. Then we must trust our vision and make choices to go in the direction our spiritual vision deems best. Spiritual sight will steer us away from evil paths. But we must choose to believe our eyes.