20/20 Vision?
By Susan Klein
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not
see.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
My husband recently
underwent a routine eye exam. His ophthalmologist asked him if he was having
trouble seeing out of his current prescription lenses because his distance
vision was actually…improving! After
wearing corrective lenses since childhood, his distance vision is now close to
20/20, an improvement one would not usually expect to happen with age. With
that declaration, the doctor also informed him that his near vision is
gradually worsening, and that he will likely soon require reading glasses.
While mulling this
over, I couldn’t help but think of how this parallels our spiritual vision. As
we age, we tend to grow in our faith and understanding of biblical precepts,
seeing things more clearly that God has revealed to us through His Word,
through the sharpening of other Christ-followers, and through life
circumstances.
But at some point,
while the bigger picture may become crystal clear, some of the smaller concepts
can actually grow fuzzy and unclear. The more we know, the more questions we
seem to have. While we are sure of our salvation and our foundational truths,
we start to develop our “list of questions to ask God” on topics that are not
so clear.
As my husband’s
nearsightedness is worsening in proportion to his farsightedness getting
better, I believe the same is true with our spiritual sight: As our wisdom and
faith grow, God proportionately allows us to encounter more of the mysteries
that cause questions and even, at times, raise doubts. Job is a great biblical
example in the Old Testament. He had immense wisdom and faith, yet went through
a severe time of testing, questioning and even doubtfulness. But God knew his
strong faith could withstand the test, and in fact, even be strengthened by it.
[1]
Faith and doubt must
coexist. Faith is believing, against all odds. It is trusting, amidst the
impossible. A person of little faith has little to question, while a person of great
faith has much to cloud his understanding. If we had perfect 20/20 vision, or
all the answers, there would be no need for faith to exist.
If you find your
spiritual vision changing as you encounter more unanswerable questions and mysteries,
have no fear. God is likely growing your faith exponentially!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What are some of your burning
questions that seem unanswerable?
2. When you start to have doubts,
does it concern you, or do you cling to your faith in God’s sovereignty,
comfortable with not having all the answers?
FURTHER
READING:
Susan is married to Mark, and
co-leads an in-home small group. She serves as a mentor to young women, and is
a member of Oakwood’s Peace Team, helping people work through conflict.
