20/20 Vision

When I was young, I constantly heard "20/20" every time I visited the eye doctor. My brother and I were both blessed with great vision while my 2 sisters couldn't go a single day without putting on their glasses or contacts.

My perfectness didn't last forever though (I know…you all are shocked that I am not perfectJ). The difference was so gradual that I became accustomed to seeing a little bit fogger and fogger. I first noticed things were getting a bit worse when I would have to squint a little bit to see things farther away. At night, when the darkness closed in, was my worst, but still not bad enough for me to want to go and get glasses! I could still see pretty well, and even at my worst, I could pass my driver's test without any help. I probably still would be without glasses, except I gradually began to develop headaches. Not just normal headaches, but ones that wouldn't go away with a couple ibuprofen. I call them my "eye headaches".

This was enough to make me see a doctor. I found out that I had what they call a stigmatism: an irregular eye curvature. To correct it, I would need to wear glasses. As I was trying to get myself to be o.k. with this, the doctor began to put different lenses in front of my eyes. My reaction was one that I will never forget. "Oh my word, I can see clearly!" I couldn't believe how accustomed I had gotten to seeing blurry. It had happened so slowly that I didn't even know what clarity looked like anymore! But all of the sudden, there it was! Perfect vision again.

Since that first visit to the eye doctor, the pattern has repeated itself. I wear my glasses for a couple of years, and not realize that my vision is getting a little blurrier and blurrier. All of the sudden, my headaches start, and I know it is time to clear things up a bit. I get my new glasses and have the same reaction. I simply can't believe that things can look so clear and crisp!

I have noticed the same thing happening to Christians across America. When we are little kids, we want to love Jesus and get to Heaven. Throw in a slumber party here and there and we are good to go. As we enter into our teen years, that pretty much flips. Our life is more about us and our fun and desires, and less about loving and pleasing God. When we finally get out of this stage, we have a "stigmatism" of sorts on our perspective. We now become driven more by what we want to see get done, and the steps that are "normal" to take, and less about seeking out what God's plan is for each and every one of us. God is an afterthought of sorts and is invited to tag along as long as He lets us do what we want. Our worship consists of going to church for an hour or two every Sunday (maybe), possibly Wednesday night service, you know…going through the motions. We know what we are supposed to do, and we, for the most part, stick to the rules. But there is a sense of the world creeping into our hearts. It is something that has happened little by little, that we aren't even aware that our "vision" is cloudy. It is just the way things are and too many of us are fine that way. We don't see a need for spiritual glasses.

But I am very aware of a headache that is starting. God wants to get our attention! We need to wake up and grab our Bibles. There is an urgency about this situation. I whole heartedly feel that we are becoming lukewarm in our beliefs and in our faith. Even worse, I feel that we are spreading it around to others. If you have ever been around someone who is passionate, you feel something contagious about them. It is the same way with someone who has no passion at all. We are influencing others to just be normal, plain Jane kind of Christians. We are setting the bar so ridiculously low, that people are content in a place where the goal is to put in the "time" at church and check it off their lists. No one feels the need or want to do anything else.

Blurred vision is not so bad…when you don't realize what you are missing. But I am here to tell you that you are missing a lot! Don't settle for every day ordinary life. God is so much bigger and has so much more planned for you! He wants you to step up and step out. Our call as Christians is to bring glory to His Name, not ours! This life is all about Him not you or me! We should be living to make Him famous!

Are you beginning to realize that your way may not match up to His way? I hope that you can get a fire started and motivate yourself to want more. Expect more! Raise that bar and challenge yourself to get to know a God who wants more for you than you yourself do!