Seeing?

At the start of the twentieth century, in the year 1910 to be exact, an eight-year-old boy who had been blind from birth underwent surgery to remove cataracts that until then, prevented him from entering and enjoying the world of light as we know it. The two French surgeons responsible for this declared the surgery a success. Their hearts fell, however, when they removed his bandages and asked him what he saw. “I don’t know,” he replied. Apparently, he could only discern an improved degree of brightness. It was not until he was allowed to reach out and grasp the moving hand in front of him that he declared, “It is moving!”
This early experiment on eye surgery speaks volumes about what we consider as sight. How does sight and the understanding of what is seen occur? Do we see just because we have eyes that are beautiful and function perfectly? Apparently not. Is observation enough for perception and understanding? And beyond these questions of physical sight are the issues of vision. Vision on a spiritual level. Vision that can traverse time and bring us to an understanding of who we are and our role in eternity. Vision that can demarcate for us what is real from God’s perspective, and what is fading. Vision that breathes hope into our future, vision that brings to life our now, and vision that gives meaning to the past. The content, height, length, breadth, and depth of our vision defines and determines our life and the quality of our existence. It is vision that ultimately sets us at the feet of wisdom. It all depends on what we see.
But where do we find vision? And where does it start? It starts with a removal of cataracts that we have been born with. Blind since birth. A blindness not of our doing. A blindness that has no recourse within ourselves. God, by His grace, removes our cataracts, and we can see. But not clearly. The room brightens, but it is a far cry from vision. Vision comes to us in a grand coupling of eyesight, experience, and the Spirit of God enlightening us. We begin to see light. Through experience, we gain understanding. Jesus opens our eyes a bit more, and we see a bit more, and we experience a bit more. And Jesus opens our eyes a bit more. And so the cycle goes. Until through our daily faithfulness and following, we gain sight. It is not an easy thing, this following. Experience comes through blood, sweat, tears, and determination. The alternative is what Helen Keller tells us, “the only thing that is worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” While we are able, let it be our determination to go beyond sight to vision. Let it be our vision to not just understand Jesus and His vision, but to be wholly consumed. Until from glory to glory, we are made to be like Him.