Spiritual Cataracts
The thoughts in this post are the results of a devotional presented recently by one of the men in our congregation. As I talked with him later, I learned that he had never before done anything like this. He also told me that he was very, very nervous. All of that may be true, but all of that did not keep him from presenting some very good thoughts.
The short version of what he had to say is that he used a personal experience to make some great spiritual applications. He had recently had cataract surgery. What follows are some observations he made about cataracts (along with some I have thought of as I reflected on what he had to say). As you read them, hopefully you can, as he so ably did, make some applications concerning how sin affects our “spiritual vision.”
- It may be possible, at least for a while, for a person to be unaware that he or she even has a cataract or that it is having an impact on his or her vision. Donna had that experience a few years ago. A “routine eye exam” found that she had a cataract so large that it kept her from using one of her eyes. Until then, she had no idea.
- Cataracts usually develop over a relatively long period of time. That is one of the reasons why they can be imperceptible for a while.
- It is so obvious that it is almost needless to make this point, but I will make it anyway. Cataracts cloud our vision. We do not see things clearly.
- Many (like me) put off doing what is necessary to eliminate the problem that is clouding our vision. We can easily come up with a long list of excuses, but they are just that – excuses, not reasons.
- It is easy and somewhat tempting to be satisfied with the status quo. Our (maybe unspoken) motto becomes – “I’m doing ok with how I’m seeing now. I don’t see any reason to make any changes.”
- While you must play a part in taking care of the problem, there is also somebody who has some abilities you don’t have and upon whose expertise you need to rely if a cataract is to be removed.
- It would be foolish to think that removing a portion of a cataract (if that is even possible) would do any good. All of it must be removed in order to have clear vision.
- Whatever needs to be done is well worth the effort.
Again, you may think of more applications, but maybe these are enough to give you some “food for thought.”
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. (Luke 11:34)
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
