The Prescription Lenses of the Gospel

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

- 1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV

 

I'm supposed to wear glasses. I'm not quite sure what my prescription is, but I'm farsighted in both my eyes, though my left is nearly perfect. Because my left eye works well enough for me, I haven't worn glasses in years. I've grown accustomed to a slight blurriness wherever I go; especially when my eyes are adjusting to a different level of light, seeing anything small and far away/too close up requires a good deal of blinking. 

I don't wear glasses because I don't like to have to remember to put them on, and the idea of contact lenses freaks me out. Carrying on like this has its downsides, though. I'm risking a lazy eye, since my right eye doesn't do as much work and therefore isn't stuck as strongly in place. My depth perception takes more effort, and sometimes I can get a headache if my eyes really aren't cooperating. 

Thinking about this put me in mind of a sort of emotional myopia that we can fall into. Emotions are the way we see the world. It's a bit unfortunate, maybe, but even the most rational of us isn't really rational—at the very least, their emotions tend to reflect reality, and so they think that they aren't influenced by them. But they are. We see the world through an emotional lens; the way we feel controls our mind, and our mind controls us. 

Perhaps that's a cynical way of putting it. Feelings certainly have influence, but just like I adjust for my lack of glasses and get by just fine (mostly), they don't need to control us. Though we won't be able to just put them aside on this earth, in the world to come we'll see through perfect eyes with no glasses needed. 

In the meantime, though, we do have prescription lenses that we can use. Emotions, especially negative ones, often cloud the truth. But God has given us a whole book full of truth that we can depend on, and if we're spending time hiding it in our heart, we'll be able to see the world not with our own blurry vision, but with the crisp and clear eyesight that God has blessed his children with. And until the day comes when we don't need the glasses anymore, praise God that we can still see!

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