I wear glasses. For the most part, I only need them for distance. I can read a book without them. I can watch TV without them, but it would be pretty dangerous for me to drive without them. I tend to take for granted that I can see okay without them, even though I can see better with them.
And then a few months ago, I went to the eye doctor for a check-up. I covered my left eye and read the letters, and then it was time to cover my right eye. I looked up at the letters and couldn’t see a thing.
I squinted and focused, but it didn’t help. I opened my eyes really wide and cocked my head, but it didn’t help. I finally told the nurse that I couldn’t see anything.
As you can probably guess, I needed a new prescription. A few weeks later, I went to pick up my new glasses, and I was amazed at the difference. I could see before, but now everything was more clear and focused.
So many of us go about our daily lives thinking we see things just fine. But if we put our spiritual glasses on, we realize how much we miss.
What do I mean by spiritual glasses? We put on our spiritual glasses when we begin to look at the world through the eyes of God. How do we do this? Studying our Bible. Spending time in prayer. Learning what’s important to God. Understanding how much He loves us and how much He hates sin.
In Mark 16:15, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” But if you’re like me, it’s easy to become complacent. When I was first saved, I wanted to talk about Jesus. I wanted to talk about Him at recess with my friends. I would bring my Bible to school, but after a while, that fire fizzled out. Instead of wanting to reach every creature, I became more concerned with the people I wanted to see in heaven. Family members. Friends. I even tried to witness to one guy simply because I liked him and knew I couldn’t date an unbeliever. I wasn’t worried about expanding the kingdom of God so much as expanding my social circle in Heaven.
Spreading the Gospel is our main mission. God gives us each talents, and we all have our niche. But that doesn’t mean we ignore all the other areas. If we don’t have a talent for something, if we don’t feel led to fill a certain void in the ministry, we can still pray. We can still show kindness to others, display a Christ-like attitude so everywhere we go, others can see Christ in us without us even opening our mouths. When we work hard for the Lord, when we seek to further His kingdom and not our own, it contrasts so sharply with the selfishness of the world that others can’t help but notice.
Once we put our spiritual glasses on, everything becomes clear and focused. We see how much Jesus loves all sinners, not just us, and we can’t ignore the need anymore. We can’t ignore our duty anymore. Everywhere we look, we’ll see someone in need of Christ. Once we look through our spiritual glasses, we’ll see God’s people everywhere we turn. And just like Jesus, we’ll go after them. We’ll help the Shepherd find His lost sheep.
