See Clearly
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Psalm 119:18
When I was 9 years old, I got glasses. I can still remember walking out of the optometrist’s office and being shocked at the difference I saw in the world. I also remember that it made my mother sad. Until that moment, I didn’t even know there were power lines. I remember asking Mom what those lines in the air were, and she realized that until then I had never seen the power lines. I didn’t understand that you can see individual leaves on trees. I thought trees were just big green blurs. The day I got my glasses, we drove over to the next town over for something, and I distinctly remember that for the entire 30 minute car ride, I was completely fascinated by what I could see. I couldn’t stop looking. Everything was so much more beautiful once I could see clearly.
In Ephesians 1, Paul writes his prayer for the church at Ephesus:
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: Ephesians 1:15-21
Verse 18 has been repeating itself in my head for a while: That the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of the inheritance in the saints. Sometimes, I feel like I went for years and years as a Christian, fully saved and redeemed, but completely blind to the riches of walking in close communion with our Lord. Oh, I studied and I prayed, and there were times when I felt full of the joy of my salvation in a good service. But, none of that compares to how good it is to truly walk closely on a daily basis. He is so good, and there are times that I struggle to pull away from my study, times when I look up and it’s 1:00 a.m. and I can’t believe I’ve been reading for hours. There are times that I can’t wait to get back into His presence in prayer. It’s such a joyful experience that I want it desperately for everyone I know. But, there’s nothing I can do but share my own joy, and pray that others will put aside the cares of the world for a while, step out of their everyday worries and frets, and fully surrender everything. There’s so much more than realizing that we need to depend on Him for our salvation, so much more than surrendering our souls. To walk away from worldly things and put it all into His hands gave me a level of peace and confidence that I could never have imagined before.
When I got my glasses all those years ago, a whole new world opened up for me. I could see more detail than I knew existed before. I remember my mother being sad that she hadn’t realized how poor my vision was up until that point. I didn’t know what I was missing, but she could have, if she’d known what I was seeing. She felt sad that she could have fixed it for me far earlier if she’d only known that my vision was that bad. I think it is much the same way in spiritual things. As babes on the milk of the word, we have no idea how satisfying the meat is. And unlike the natural world, continually drinking this spiritual milk will never make us grow. We have to want to grow ourselves, there has to be a desire to go deeper. Only after we have the desire to grow and grow closer to Him can we begin to truly taste His goodness.
I’ve heard people say that God is the consummate gentleman. He never forces Himself on us. He is there, He wants a relationship with us. He wants to walk closely with us. He will even draw us with His Holy Spirit, but in the end the relationship that we have with Him is our choice.
What do you want out of your relationship with the Creator of the Universe? Do you want to commune daily? Worship more fully? Learn more about His Word? I can promise you this: He is there, and He is willing, all we have to do is seek Him.
