Tag Archives: obstructed view in our christian faith

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Dirty Lenses

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dirty_lensesWhen our lens on life becomes clouded and smudged with the filth of this world it’s hard to keep our eyes on where God wants to lead us to fulfill His purpose. The same is true of the 50-plus pair of eyeglasses I own that have fingerprints, dirt and spatters of who knows what that obstructs my vision to see things clearly. I’m amazed I manage to get through the day, drive my car or see the screen of my iPhone and not notice my dirty glasses.

The perception of our circumstances is altered when viewed through dirty lenses and over time, we tend to acclimate ourselves to the dirty filter. Sin is like that. We don’t see the fingerprint smudges of sin in our life unless we hold the lens of our heart up to the light of God’s Word.

I do my best every day to avoid touching my eyeglass lenses, but those efforts prove futile. When I hold them up to the light at day’s end, I am surprised at the accumulated smudges and smears clouding my view.

I liberally spray them with water and use my handy-dandy cleaning cloth to wipe off the filth and my view of the world suddenly changes. Images appear sharper and I can focus with greater clarity.

Our Christian walk also requires daily cleansing to avoid the contamination of this world. Failing to do so will dramatically alter our view of what is right and what is wrong. Dirty glasses influence our perception of current cultural trends and popular opinions and hides God’s from our view. It’s the proverbial, “Out of sight, out of mind.”

Are you in a place where you need God’s living waters to wash your spiritual glasses and His word to be your cleaning cloth?

“Show me the right path, O LORD ; point out the road for me to follow.” Psalms 25:4

God can’t point out the right path if we’re looking through dirty lenses. We must allow the Word of God to wash away the daily grime, crude and filth that this corrupt and sinful world throws at us to successfully walk in the paths of righteousness.

Today’s Prayer:

Dear Lord,

When things within this world cloud my vision give my spiritual life a serious wipe down and deep clean with the washing of your Word. Let me never lose sight of your eternal purpose for me when I choose to clean my glasses and seek the right path.

“Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin!” Psalms 51:2 (GNT)

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DIRTY LENSES

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IMG_8612I wear reading glasses and own 23 pair to prove it. There is a pair in every room of the house; in every glove compartment, two pair in my purse and a pair on the boat. Oh yes, there is also the pair I wear on the top of my head; the one I am forever trying to find. It’s not uncommon to see glasses on my head, hanging from shirt or perched on my nose; all at the same time.

When the grandkids need help with homework, the TV remote or want me to view their latest and greatest Minecraft houses, they hand me a pair of glasses. I can’t count the number of times I have reached for glasses on the top of my head only to find I have taken them off and left them in some unknown location.

Since my eye glasses are repeatedly taken off and on, it is pointless to store them in a protective case. Needless to say, it also means fingerprints and smudges continually cloud my view. On occasion I use my shirttail to wipe the lenses; but that only cleans a small radius in the center of each lens and my clouded view becomes further obstructed by tunnel vision.

I have all the right tools to thoroughly clean my eye glasses and it would only take a few minutes each day to remove the dirty fingerprints that obstruct my view. But, I willfully choose to not use them and instead complain about my inability to see things clearly.

Our Christian walk is no different.

God provides humanity with eye glasses in all shapes, colors, sizes and lens strength. It is up to us to keep the fingerprints of sin, differences, prejudices and unbelief from clouding our view.

To clean the lenses through which we view life, we must first remove those things that obstructs our view. That requires more than a simple wipe of the shirt tail; it requires the right tools to thoroughly clean our heart:

  • The Word of God: The solution that softens the dirty fingerprints on the lens of our heart
  • Prayer: The extra boast needed to remove the fingerprints and smudges from our life
  • Forgiveness: The cloth that wipes the lens of our heart and allows us a clear view of God’s purpose in our life
  • Grace: The protective cover that keeps our vision from being clouded

“You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5

God provides us with the tools to keep our vision clear and unclouded. However, it is our decision to walk through life with dirty lenses that prevent us from seeing the light.