It is hard to be optimistic when you have a misty optic.”

Vance Havner

How is your vision? I started wearing glasses at ten years of age. Each time I went for a vision examination, the optometrist would test each eye individually to determine the prescription needed to attain 20/20 vision. He would then write a prescription for glasses which would address the need.

I had gotten several pairs of glasses from the age of ten to the age of twenty-one. I went to a different optometrist that year, and once again the exam was made of each eye and the prescription was determined to give me 20/20 vision. However, this was the first time that after the examination was completed, the doctor put a beam of light on the wall and asked if I could see it clearly. I answered, “Yes, I see both of them clearly.” Dr. Price looked at the wall, then looked at me, and said, “But there is only one dot of light on the wall.” But no, there were two distinct dots of light, and I saw both of them clearly.

For the first time in my life, it was discovered that I had double vision. Oh, I had perfect vision in each eye, but when I looked through both eyes I saw a ghost image – double-vision. With the use of prismatic lenses, I had true 20/20 vision and saw clearly for the first time in my life. My vision has worsened through the years, and I have now gone from single lenses to bifocals and now to trifocals, but with each new prescription I have been able to maintain 20/20 vision. I see clearly.

At another time in my life, I had developed poor vision of a different kind. I viewed life through the lens of the world. I saw things from an earthly perspective. Please note that I used the indefinite article “an” and not the definite article, “the”. The reason is quite simple: there is not just one earthly perspective, but there are many. In my past two blogs, I have discussed the subject of a worldly mentality as opposed to a mentality which is based on the Word of God. In those blogs I discussed the fact that the world has a plethora of political systems which are embraced by different people groups around the world. And these distinct political systems are vastly different, with very little in common. Those constituents of one political system see nothing good in other systems that do not agree with them.

As one studies the different political systems around the world then it is easy to get confused, perplexed and bewildered by the contradictions that are clearly evident between those systems. Each of them will make truth claims, but those claims are clearly contradictory to the truth claims of other systems, and the result is that we are no longer able to see clearly. There are too many opposing voices clamoring for our acceptance and allegiance.

There was a time in which I was completely confused by the different voices of American politics. At one time in my life, I could have been rightly described as a far-left liberal. As a young adult, I was caught up in the anti-government, anti-establishment, anti-war, movement that was such a huge part of the American landscape in light of the Viet Nam war. Even though I was not a political activist, if you would have asked me at that time in my life if I was a conservative or a liberal, or somewhere in between, I would not have identified with any of them. I liked to view myself as a free-thinker, not conforming to any political agenda. I did not see clearly.

But then something miraculous happened. On Tuesday evening, September 13, 1977, I was gloriously saved by the amazing grace of God. My perspective immediately changed. I no longer looked at things through the lens of a fallen world, or a faulty political system, or would-be political “saviors”, but I began to look at the world through the lens of Scripture. Instead of allowing the Bible to be interpreted by the world, I began to interpret the world through the lens of the Bible. I changed from the state of having a misty optic, not being able to see clearly because of the confusion in the world, to being optimistic, seeing the world through the truth of Scripture.

Admittedly there are many things that happen in this life that cause a state of confusion and perplexity. If we try to interpret the Bible through the lens of the world, then we will be left in a state of perpetual uncertainty. But if we interpret the confusion of the world through the lens of the Bible, we will begin to see clearly that this worldly system is moving steadily toward it’s God-appointed climax. We do not need to be distraught, discouraged, down-trodden and distressed because of the chaos and confusion of the world, but we should be encouraged as we see the world moving toward it’s climactic conclusion as appointed by God.

Do you want to see clearly? Great! Then turn to God’s Word, and allow the uncertainties of the world to begin to make sense as we learn the certainty of God’s unfolding plan.

Blessings!