SEEING BEYOND VISION
We Are Not OK - Part 6
Here we are a month into 2020 and everyone is still talking about clear vision. Personally, I think the metaphor has worn a bit thin. Rather than jumping on the “20/20 Vision” bandwagon on New Years, I held off this particular reflection to give us time to lament our “Not-okay-ness.” We cannot expect to find a clear path forward if we don’t know where we are. As we come together in this “not-OK” place and learn to wander together toward hope, seeking clear vision becomes a common goal.
There’s only one problem with this whole idea of “clear vision”… It’s all an illusion.
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t have any sin, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”
John 9:41
I hear people constantly praying for clarity, for vision, for certain answers or solutions to their problems, for direction, and so on. After all, the scripture says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Yet when we look at the lives of the disciples as they followed Jesus and the lives of the apostles as they proclaimed the gospel throughout the world, we find little clear vision and direction. In most cases, they had no idea where they were going. If we knew where we were going, why would Jesus tell us to follow him instead of letting us lead the way? If our vision was so clear, why did he send the Holy Spirit to guide us every step of the way?”
As much as our pride wants to resist this truth, there is no point at which we shift from being followers of Christ to being “leaders.” As Christians, we don’t lead others because we have a clear vision and a certain path. If, as leaders, we are not following Christ, then we are leading our people nowhere. We do not see the end-game or the big vision anymore clearly than those who follow us. Rather, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and invite others to come alongside us as we follow him together. This is why the apostle Paul writes, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He does not say, “Follow me because I have a clear vision and you should get on board.”
Scripture consistently teaches us to walk by faith and not by sight and to recognize our own blindness (2 Corinthians 5:7, Proverbs 3:5-6, Hebrews 11:1, 2 Corinthians 4:18, 1 John 2:10, Matthew 15:14, Isaiah 5:10). If I’m being honest, one of the most frustrating texts for me is Psalm 119:105 - “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” God only promises to illuminate what is right in front of us. God’s word shines at our feet and along our immediate path. Personally, I prefer GPS. When I want to go somewhere, I like to put in the address and map out the entire route before I leave home. These days I can put in what time I want to leave and find out how long it will take me to get there based on average traffic patterns at a given time of day. Yes, as I mentioned last week, there are times I like to wander as well, but that is only for the purposes of exploring. If I’m trying to get somewhere specific, it’s another ball-game.
We are all trying to get somewhere very specific. We may call it heaven or the Kingdom of God or the New Jerusalem or simply to a state of peace or Shalom wrapped in the loving arms of our Creator. We may hope to reach this destination in this life, or we might assume our destination lies somewhere beyond the veil of death. We may long for the whole world to reach this place together as God’s Kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven and Eden is restored, or we may simply hope to escape this world before it burns up in the pit of Hell. This is not the place to make a specific argument about what that ultimate destination may or may not look like, but rather to acknowledge that wherever or whenever it might be, we don’t have a GPS to give us a clear picture of how to get there and what time we will arrive. What we have is a lamp to shine on the path right in front of us and the faith to keep taking the next step, deeper and deeper into the “cloud of unknowing” or the “mystery of God.”
In all of our efforts to cast clear visions, it seems we have lost sight of the path right in front of us. We are so busy looking ahead of Jesus trying to figure out where he is leading us that we overlook the places where he invites us to stop and rest or the people he wants us to meet or help along the way. Just like the blind man in Mark 8:24, we have received our vision from Jesus, but the people around us still look like trees. Unlike the blind man, however, too many of us are content with that. We say “thank you Jesus for restoring my sight,” but we don’t want to admit that it’s not as clear as it should be. We don’t stick around for that second touch. We are like the little girl in Toy Story 4, who after her first day of Kindergarten comes home and says, “OK, I’m done with Kindergarten… ready for 1st grade.”
“Jesus opened my eyes,” we say, “so I’m ready for heaven now.” And then we sit back and wait, thinking we see everything so clearly and know everything we need to know and everyone else just needs to get on board, pray forgiveness and believe in Jesus so they can come to heaven with us.
Maybe it’s time to stop praying for clear vision and start praying for the patience and faith to keep following Jesus one step at a time. Maybe it’s time to stop looking so far ahead and start noticing what God is up to right in front of us. In our rush to reach some ultimate destination, how many people have we cut down like trees in our path? We may have the greatest vision in the world, but can we really see?
Reflections:
What differences do you see between vision and sight? Between faith and clarity?
In what ways have you lost sight of the path right in front of you in the process of pursuing a bigger vision?
Who is it Jesus may be inviting you to pause and really see this week?
A fellow member of my Doctor of Ministry Cohort, Kaiya Jennings, shared an amazing word from God in morning prayer at Duke on this issue of vision vs. sight. Take a listen for yourself and be blessed. May we all allow Jesus to open our eyes, not for the future, but for right now.
https://www.facebook.com/100000268130623/videos/2926836047335304/