Finally, my new glasses, tailored to exactly correct my vision, had arrived. I was so excited to pick them up at my optometrists’ office.

It wasn’t that I was unable to see anything. I am grateful that while I cannot see perfectly without glasses, I do have. To not see a sunset, words, a baby’s smile, a perfectly formed flower, a sparking lake, the trees, the stars, a rainbow, a horse – well, many things I love to look at – would remove an amazing dimension of life on this planet that would narrow my world.

The story is, my glasses had been stolen, along with a lot of other items. I had purchased some reading glasses at CVS while waiting two very long months to replace my prescription glasses. Although the array of inexpensive, stylish readers ranging from +1 to +3.25 was fun to pick from, I was ready to fork over hundreds of dollars for my new glasses, tailor made to compensate for my exact visual deficiencies.

Readers worked fine to see important things by magnifying them. Prices in the grocery stores or words on a page or computer are legible with readers. While readers are a good tool to make things look bigger, I was still in a hurry to regain the clarity of vision I had with my ‘real’ glasses. If perfect sight, 20/20, was possible, I wanted it.

Of course, we want to see! And we want to see clearly. But we often don’t.

The hymn Amazing Grace is so famous. It has been around for over 250 years. Many people know it by heart. The story of John Newton, an 18th century former slave trader who wrote the song, may not be as well known.

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
   That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
   Was blind, but now I see.

“I was blind, but now I see” is a poetic and very dramatic phrase Newton uses to describe his own experience of spiritual sight. Newton had a piercing revelation that, in spite of his lawless life, God’s grace forgave him and changed him. His words describe a conversion. Not just a vision correction, but a complete revolution from darkness to light. Newton completely changed. From profiting from the slave trade, he became an outspoken abolitionist. From cursing and drinking and carousing, he became a devoted Christian man.

Are we blind like John Newton? Some are. However, if you are reading this, like me you do have sight. You are not totally blind because the same revolution that transformed John Newton has already taken place in your life. God’s mercy and grace has washed you clean, and you now are a new creature in Christ. Even as a Christian, your spiritual vision may not yet be perfect. I think we can all identify with relying on ‘readers’ to get us through our days.

There have always been many lenses available purported to help us see. And we need them because few people have 20/20 vision. In a world clouded by confusion and deception, clarity of vision is essential for navigating life’s complexities. There is a selection of stylish lenses that seem to aid us in seeing things more clearly. Many of these lenses frame us well, are inexpensive and easy to find, and come in varying strengths. The lens of materialism usually has the loudest and most flashy frame. Then there is the lens of religion, often framed by church going and bible knowledge. The lens of self is sold everywhere and is one of the strongest and most powerful lenses I am familiar with. I have worn the lens of fashion and it made me feel cool. And the lens of professional pride framed by my position and my work. The lens of temporary romance made me feel euphoric. The lens of education made me feel intelligent. The lens of politics is very popular with many people, a best seller. And the lens of entertainment is so ubiquitous, we almost don’t notice we’re wearing it.

I have tried and worn quite a few, if not all, of the above lenses and admittedly, they did seem to help me see better, but only temporarily. Over time my eyesight worsened rather than improved. I found myself bumping into things and getting hurt. I couldn’t read directions clearly and ended up getting lost. I made bad decisions because I wasn’t focusing well.

Thinking I could get by with readers didn’t work because these lenses were inadequate. They magnified the world, but I wasn’t seeing clearly through them. They were cheap substitutes that did not measure up to a perfect prescription that would deliver true sight, vision, depth, dimension, purpose and permanent meaning to my life.

I now know where to go to get the prescription that fits me – and is tailored to fit every person so well that once we find it, we’ll never go back to CVS, or anywhere else.

The perfect prescription lens is always in the same place, every time.

Because it is Jesus.

Jesus, who “laid his hands on a blind man’s eyes; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” (Mark 8:25).

Jesus, whose life is the light of men. (John 1:4) and who is called the true light, which gives light to everyone. (John 1:9) 

Jesus, who said, “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63) 

Like Simon Peter, let us answer him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68)

And really see.