"I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word." Psalm 119:15-16
I did it for the third time this morning. You would think after the first, or at least the second time, I'd learn. But, I did it again. On Tuesday mornings I get up at 6am and walk from the house we are living in to the church (just across the street) to lead a Bible study. I try to keep the house as dark as possible so as not to wake up Josiah, and to give Sue a few extra minutes of sleep. I have all my clothes waiting in the bathroom, so I can get dressed without disturbing anyone. I turn on a small light in the kitchen that reflects just enough light into the living room so I can see to put my shoes on, then I grab my Bible and keys and head out the door. It never strikes me until I get to the church that I forgot something very important - my glasses.
I suppose that after more than ten years of wearing glasses, putting them on first thing would be second nature. But it isn't. The problem is that I can see without them. My vision is not so impaired that I immediately recognize my need of them. I can see most things fairly clear, and I can even read things that are of a decent size without having them on. It is not like the world is one big blurry mess if I don't have them on. So, in my rush to get out the door and because nothing is demanding a clearer view, off I go. I finally realize my failure when I open the pages of my Bible and THEN the world becomes a blurry mess. What I really need to see, I can't see, without the help provided by my glasses. Those little black letters all just run together and I can't make heads or tails out of them without stretching my arms out to their limits and squinting and straining and twisting my neck in all kinds of ways.
This is true in life too, isn't it? We see the world around us just good enough to make us forget that we need help to see what is really important. Then, when situations and circumstances arise that are important, and they demand a clearer vision, too often all the little pieces become blurry and we can't make sense of what they are telling us or what they mean. We struggle to see the truth, and what is a warning is not recognized because it is not clear to our eyes.
O how thankful I am for God's Word! If it weren't for the lens of the Scripture, I would only see what my eyes (weak as they are) are capable of seeing, and I need to see so much more! I need to see so much that is small and seemingly hidden, but of timeless value for me as a husband, father, friend, and pastor. I cannot afford to allow eternal truth to be blurred or missed by eyes dulled by temporary images of grandeur. I need to put my "glasses" on every day, knowing that it is the only way I can see what is really important.
