What is on your mind?
As a little boy, I would daydream or fall asleep at night thinking about playing. Playing baseball or playing with my friends was on my mind. When my parents bought a minibike for me, I thought about riding it. Maybe I would think about a vacation, camping, fishing, swimming, or a trip. As I grew older, I would think about friends at school, playing high school sports, and girls. These things were on my mind, and I suppose they are on the mind of ever average American boy.
In Matthew 6:22-23 I am reminded that my vision reveals who I am.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
As I was typing, the line above while listening to my playlist, “Everyday Worship,” on Spotify, the hymn, “Be Thou My Vision” began playing. This version is from “Ascend the Hill’s” album, “Hymns.”
Take a minute and give it a listen.
As I have aged, my vision naturally has changed. I am able to get by without prescription lenses but must use readers to see things that are close. The things I see while driving that are far away have become harder to see. For that matter, labels on medicine bottles and movie descriptions on TV are harder to read. But our Lord is not talking about our physical vision.
I believe He is talking about what we “see,” as in what is on our mind and what occupies our thoughts.
Being at different locations affects what we can see, and our perspective of where we are spiritually in our relationship with Christ affects our perspective.
We need the Lord’s perspective, His view on life and matters of importance, His wisdom.
The subject of “vision” in the Scripture is wonderful and wide.
The verse that says, “Without a vision, the people perish,” (Prov. 29:18) speaks of revelation--the revelation of God’s word, His truth, His guidance. Without this insight, people are lost and wander through life and perish.
Actually, in today’s language, the verse is better translated like this:
"Without revelation a people run wild, but one who listens to instruction will be happy" (Pr. 29:18 HCSB).
Another way to understand it is if I said, “Without a rule book, the game is crazy!”
It is a fact that without God’s revelation, His truth in Scripture, everyone plays by their own rules, and life is crazy.
I need God’s perspective, His vision for how I am to glorify Him and serve Him the remaining years of my life.
But as the hymn says, I need Christ to be my Vision!
I need to be aware of the awesome power and presence of God. I need my thoughts to always turn to the glory of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
How?
Do you really want to know?
By daily seeking to know and follow Jesus as you read the Bible, pray, and obey.
He wants and deserves our wholehearted devotion. When He is our vision, our perspective on everything else changes because we are changed.
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art
High King of Heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God" (Mt. 5:8).
Praying for you!
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