God has called us to be people of “vision”. Christians are to look away from themselves and meet the needs of others. The world doesn’t understand this.
They have blinded themselves to the spiritual things of life. They are focused inwardly. Jesus used the word of the Prophet Isaiah to describe this problem:
"'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'” (Matthew 13:14-15).
Spiritual healing will come to us when we open our eyes to the Word of God and accept what God is teaching us.
We need to have a desire within our hearts to accept God’s Word above anything that this world tries to make us see.
Again we simply focus on the wrong things, even if we are focused on others. Jesus warned in Luke 6:41-42, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
In Luke 7, “When a woman who had lived a sinful life” interrupted a dinner party at the house of Simon the Pharisee, where Jesus was the honor guest, Jesus taught Simon a parable and then, Jesus “turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’”
The woman has been in the room and Simon was watching her, but he never saw her. He saw what he thought was her sin, but he never saw her.
Jesus wanted Simon to open up his heart and “see the woman”.
We are taught by example. Jesus told us that we are not to be like the rest of the world:
“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).
Our vision is to see ways that we can serve others in the name of Jesus, following the example of Jesus.
It is time for the church to be filled with people of vision. Spiritually, all of our needs are met in Jesus Christ.
After that, we need to open up our eyes and see beyond ourselves and see the needs of others. If we will do that, we will heal our “I” problems.
Chris Vidacovich
