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Corrective Lenses Consider the following story: After an eye exam, the patient asked his doctor about his vision. "What is my vision?" asked the patient. "Is it like 80/20 or 100/20?" "We really do not measure eye sight like that any more unless it can’t be corrected," stated the doctor. "Well, others have told me that they never have had to wear eyeglasses, but when they had their eyes checked, they were suddenly 80/20 and they had to get glasses," said the patient. "The measurement, like 80/20, is relative to the person getting corrective lenses," said the doctor. "People walk around everyday with 40/20 vision and 80/20 vision. They do not think a thing of it because they have never seen with 20/20 vision. When you live your whole life seeing a certain way, you never know that there is a better way to see. Before you wore glasses, you probably thought your sight was sufficient, but then when you received your corrective lenses, you realized how much better you could see. This is because your sight had been poor your whole life. Corrective lenses bring you to perfect 20/20 vision." "So, by looking at my prescription, what do you think my sight measures?" asked the patient. The doctor replied, "I would say… about 250/20." This story gives such a profound spiritual application. Perhaps this could be a church member speaking to his pastor about walking out his salvation. So many Christians today walk out their life thinking they can see spiritually, but really can’t see anything at all. If there were a way to measure our spiritual senses, how many of us would turn out fit? The doctor stated that he really does not measure sight unless it can’t be corrected. So many today live a life blind to the works of Satan and blind to the works of God. Those things they think are Satan really aren’t, and those things they think are God really aren’t. They seem to live a life of confusion, until one day, it is too late. They can not see something from far away, so they wait until it is close enough to focus on and by then, it is too late. They have lived their life blind. The time of judgment comes, and there is no way to correct the spiritual eyesight because their whole life has been a lie. The doctor states that people walk around everyday without corrective lenses, seeing with poor vision. They either do it because of pride, not wanting their weakness to be seen, or because they just do not know any better. These people believe they can see with perfect vision into the spiritual realm because they have had this poor quality of sight their whole life. But can they really? People will not really know how badly they can see until someone who can see better tells them. People squint in the spirit, trying as hard as they can to do the right thing when all along there is an easier way. (2 Cor 5:7 KJV) "(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)" In this verse, sight means poor spiritual sight, and faith means perfect spiritual sight. Sometimes we look at this verse and think that we a merely blind people walking around bumping into each other, but by faith we will go in the right direction. We think that one day we will see our path and wonder how we got where we are. This is a very wrong conception in the church. God wants us to see. He wants us to have discernment. It is just too bad that people’s pride is greater than their faith. It is too bad that people would rather squint and get beaten up by the devil because they can’t see, than receive instruction and counsel. People believe they can do it on their own instead of submitting to God’s authority. They believe they can see just fine without someone telling them they can see better. (1 Cor 13:11-12 KJV) "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. {12} For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:" Paul likens poor sight to childhood, seeing in a glass darkly. When the child becomes a man, he can see clearly face to face. Children do not like correction and instruction; that is why Solomon says, (Prov 13:24 NRSV) "Those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them." Men will take correction in order to see clearly. (Heb 12:5-11 KJV) "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: {6} For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. {7} If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? {8} But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. {9} Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? {10} For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. {11} Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." In these days that we are living in, it is more important than ever to see clearly by the spirit. We need to receive instruction. God forbid that we would think we have arrived into perfection. We all need to take correction, that is to say, wear our corrective lenses. -S. Chad Ross October Newsletter 1998 | Flesh & Holiness | Corrective Lenses | Pastor's Journal October 1997 Prophecy by Rev. Earl Roundtree | The Need for Virtues | A People of Understanding part 3 of 4 Revised: May 11, 2010. |
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