Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:23-25
Dear Jesus, I clearly “see” myself in this story—pun intended. But there’s so much more I need you to help me see. Ophthalmologically, it is time for a new prescription for my aging eyes. But what I want to see more clearly has nothing to do with rods and cones, cataracts and floaters. By the eye of faith, there’s so much I want to see much more clearly.
Like Abraham (Heb. 11:10), I want a crystal-clear vision of our ultimate home—the City of God… our coming life in the new heaven and new earth. Jesus, open my eyes to see the sure (not imaginary) evidence of the ways eternal life has already invaded the darkness, brokenness, and decay. You are already making all things new (Rev. 21:5). I want to see, smell, taste, hear, and engage with what you are presently doing—though it will take your return to “finish up.”
This kind of seeing has nothing to do if we are “glass half-empty” or “glass half-full” people. It has everything to do with belonging to you, taking the Scriptures more seriously than fears inside us, and false prophets-for-profit all around us.
Help us to see the “already” of your present Kingdom, even as we become more certain, more joyful, more engaged with its “not-yet.” Replace our vexation with adoration, and our angst with awe. So Very Amen, on steroids.