20/20

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 

2 Peter 1:2-10

     Easter, or as I have grown fond of calling it, Resurrection Sunday, is my favorite holiday of the year. It is an abundant celebration, for it commemorates the day my Lord defeated Death on my behalf. It is also a sobering celebration, for it reminds me that before Death was conquered, He also suffered horribly and submitted to a brutal and humiliating death in my stead, and that He suffered willingly for my crimes and not for His own. It is both a time for reflection and repentance as well as a time for delirious joy, and I cherish the bitter and the sweet aspects alike. It is a time to celebrate the entirity of my walk with the Lord.
    
     With His sacrifice in mind this week, I have been reading in 2 Peter and the above passage stood out to me today, particularly the admonition that "whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind." I took some time to consider not only my walk but my spiritual vision as well.

     I looked a little deeper and discovered that the word translated in ESV as "nearsighted" is translated by the ASV as "short-sighted" and that the Greek word, muopazo, is only used this once in Scripture. It means, according to Thayer's Greek Definitions, "to see dimly, to see only what is near."  Strong defines it as "to shut the eyes--cannot see far off." Either way, I am sure Peter is referring to spiritual vision here. Do I see clearly with eyes fixed on myLord, looking through His eyes of eternity? In both trial and triumph, do I fix my gaze steadily on the enormity of God's great plan and purpose? Or am I short-sighted, seeing only what is passing in front of my eyes at this very moment, things which are really only the transitory stuff of this world about which Solomon wrote, "I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind," (Ecclesiastes 1:14). As I meditated on the passage, the following parable kept surfacing in my thoughts:

 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

"No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."

Luke 8:5-18

    

      It seems to me that there is a strong correlation between both the seed sown on the thorny ground and those who are spiritually short-sighted. I also see clearly that it is extremely easy in the America of today to become spiritually nearsighted. Note that it is not only cares or trouble but also "riches and pleasures of life" that choke out the Word of God. My friends, this is a dangerously deceptive trap that the enemy of our souls has laid for us, for it does not appear to be a trap at all. At one point in my journey I was nearly lulled into it myself, and I am thankful that God shook me out of my reverie in time! I know the danger has not passed, for I am not yet in my eternal home but I am more on my guard than  I was before.

     This trap, I fear, is found in all the things that seem so very important to us and yet crowd out the time with our Lord, the one thing that truly matters. Most of us are consumed with "cares and riches and pleasures of life." I see so many people, especially people with children, caught up in a whirlwind of activities, from sports to dance, clubs, teams, jobs, and hobbies that there is virtually no time left for them to simply sit and listen to the Lord. 

    So many of us have become short-sighted, allowing all the "good" things that we do to crowd out the best thing--investment in the one relationship which will matter forever. We try to squeeze "God time" into these hectic schedules rather than making Him the priority and dropping off anything that threatens to infringe upon His time. Friends, when we do that, our priorities are just plain backwards.

     I have been convicted of incorrectly prioritizing my time and have repented, and now I share my conviction with you, my brothers and sisters. Please do not let all the pleasant and fun entertainments or even the hard work of this life crowd out your critical time with God. The Kingdom of God, His service, and His purpose for your life absolutely must be the most important item on your agenda. All else, no matter how nicely you color it or how necessary it seems to your sanity or your child's development, is fleeting.

     A tool that I have found useful in weighing the myriad options that threaten toconsume the hours of my day is this: I ask myself, "Will this action or its results matter 100 years from this day?"  For you see, I do find that eternity is quite beyond my spiritual visual range, but I can envision 100 years from now. If my answer to that question is, "no," than, my friend, that is my answer to the commitment. My God has my heart, mind, body, and soul, and if it matters to Him, than it matters to me. All else is as brief as the blossoms of spring.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.