Madisonville Church of Christ

Many scientists argue that man is "visually oriented." It is thought that this is why sight is considered to be the most precious of the five senses. In many ancient cultures, eyes were believed to be conduits of great spiritual power, and often were used as symbols of such power. Although one who is blind may be able to live a very productive life in today's society, blindness and even impaired vision were much more devastating to people in the Biblical world. Mark 10:46-52 tells of a blind man named Bartimaeus, who could only sit by the side of the road and beg from those who passed by, until Jesus restored his sight. This was the lot of all who were blind in the first century, and had no one to care for them.

In Matthew 6:22 and 23, Jesus used the importance of physical vision to illustrate man's need for good spiritual vision. On the one hand, a faithful servant of God has good spiritual eyesight, for he is able to see the light that God provides to guide him, and he follows it down the path of righteousness (Psa. 119:105; I John 1:7; Mat. 7:13,14). On the other hand, the eyes of those who rebel against God are "evil" (literally, "diseased"), and their vision is impaired, so they cannot see the light, or go where it leads (Mat. 15:14). Those who want to serve the Lord, and follow the way to Heaven must learn to identify and correst problems, which can lead to poor spiritual vision.

Some people suffer from spiritual nearsightedness. One who is physically nearsighted is one who can see clearly that which is close to him, but cannot see clearly that which is far away from him. One who is spiritually nearsighted is one whose character does not include qualities normally associated with Christ, and is "blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins" (II Pet. 1:5-9). A nearsighted Christian is a selfish person, who cares little for the feelings and problems of others, and has little or no compassion (II Pet. 2:9-16; Gal. 6:2,10; Mat. 25:41-16). His thoughts and cares are only for things pertaining to this present world (I John 2:15-17). He does not think about the consequences of his words and actions, and he retains no thoughts of eternity, or Heaven, or Hell (Num. 32:23; Heb. 13:8; Luke 16:23; Rev. 21:4). He has no desire to attain any spiritual goals, and he is never active in the work of the church (Phil. 3:13,14; I Cor. 15:58).

The only thing worse than a nearsighted Christian is a nearsighted church! Such a congregation has all of its attention and resources focused on itself. While it is certainly desirable for a church to concentrate on internal issues, it ought not to be done to the exclusion of outside concerns. Nearsighted churches do not care about evangelizing the world, or helping the needy, and they are not interested in the welfare of the brotherhood (Mat. 28:19,20; Gal. 6:10; I Pet. 2:17). They place no trust in the providence of God, and they keep a tight lid on the church treasury, because they are afraid of wasting it (Rom. 12:11). They do not plan any farther ahead than their next gospel meeting, because they set no goals, and they have no ambition. In short: nearsighted churches do not grow!

Some people suffer from spiritual farsightedness. One who is physically farsighted is one who can see clearly that which is far away from him, but cannot see clearly that which is close to him. One who is spiritually farsighted is one who cannot see any of his own faults,

How's Your Vision?