By It, I Can See Everything Else

At 14, I walked out of the Eye Doctor's office in sheer amazement: I could see the leaves on the trees and the cracks in the road. I remember riding home in the car staring at the road, watching it go by, catching sight of cracks, seeing something that had always been there, but that I had never seen in my everyday life for the 14 years of my existence.

The next day, when I went to school, I could see people walking far across the courtyard and easily recognize them. I had recognized them before I had glasses, of course. I had managed to adapt wonderfully and learned to recognize people by the way they moved and by their body shape. I didn't need to see details to know what I was looking at. In fact, I had adapted so well that I didn't even know I needed glasses.

Well, that statement may not be completely accurate. I had tried on my dad's glasses when I was twelve and seen more clearly, so I knew in the back of my mind that I had problems with my vision. But, I had no idea of the scope of what I was missing. I performed well in all of my classes and, to my knowledge, my vision didn't prevent me from doing any of the activities that I was interested in doing. I coped very well and relied more heavily on my sense of smell and hearing to tell me what my eyes could not.

In short, I thought I was getting along fine. I didn't have a clue what I was missing because I couldn't conceive of its existence. I could see the leaves shimmering magically in the distance, even though I couldn't see the crisp tremblings of the leaves. I could see the variations in color on the road, like pebbles under the surface of murky water, but I couldn't see the cracks and outlines. I could see the forest, but I couldn't see the trees... and I didn't even know they could be seen.

"I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun - not because I can see it, but by it, I can see everything else." This quote is attributed to C. S. Lewis. I bring it up because I remember another day where I was riding home in the car staring in amazement. Once again, I was seeing things I never knew existed. But I wasn't staring at the road and looking at cracks, I was staring at everything I looked upon. For the second time in my life, a vision impairment I didn't know I had was lifted from my eyes and I saw more clearly. But, the first time the impairment was physical, this time, it was spiritual.

People want proof that God exists. But how do you prove to someone who thinks he, or she, can see fine that they have vision problems unless you put glasses on that person? And God is spiritual glasses. My second restoration of sight was not less stunning than my first. In fact, it was greater because if affected more than just what my eyes could see. You might be asking yourself if my vision, my physical sight was really affected that day that I truly knew God for the first time. And my answer to you is, yes! I can't explain it except to say that colors grew more distinct and bright, and the world regained an amazement for me that I hadn't felt since I was a young child first learning about the wonders of my world. Do you wonder why some Christians are so adamant about their faith, even in the sight of what seems to be overwhelming evidence against God's existence? It's because we have had real proof. I can't share that kind of proof with you, except to tell you about it. But, that doesn't make it any less real. Until you put on God's "glasses", you have no idea what I'm talking about; but, other Christians do.

And, I said that this second restoration of sight affected more than just my physical vision, and that's true and tangible, too. The relationship of everyone and everything to everyone and everything else took on entirely new meaning. That day, you became much more precious to me. Why do Christians persist in trying to share their God with you? Why won't they quit when no one wants to hear what they have to say? Why are they sometimes willing to die to share what they call the "Good News" with the very people who want to kill them? It's because we see you with new eyes and a new heart. It's because we know how precious you are. It's because we know what our life was like without these new eyes and the most selfish and hurtful thing we could possibly do would be to keep this to ourselves and refuse to share the incredible Gift we've been given. If I give everything else I own away to the poor and spend my life serving those who can't take care of themselves, but withhold this knowledge of God for myself, then my life has been meaningless.

Put on the glasses. Accept the gift. Live a life of great meaning.

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13