Question: How’s your eyesight? How reliable is it? I’m not an ophthalmologist and I’m not an optician. I’m just wondering about your eyes and what they’re saying to you.

If you accept only what your eyes tell you, particularly about people, you’ll soon wonder why the thrill of being a son or daughter of God has seemingly leaked from your heart. “Where’s the joy I once knew?” In my years of pastoring, that is one of the top reasons that sons and daughters of God begin to lose vigor and joy—they believe what their eyes say about their neighbors. When they see people from an exterior view only, they cannot approach them by faith in what God says is actually true of them because of what He did through the cross and resurrection. So their Christianity becomes relatively impractical, frustrated by the faulty angle of appearances. From that view, they can’t help but grow “dry” or bored in their walk with Jesus because their eyes are out of focus. They’ve essentially gone blind to the truth.

Here’s the normal view, the invigorating and healthy view for a Christian:

2 Corinthians 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary (it’s a passing away façade), but what is unseen is eternal (it’s what is forever true about God and about us).” (Parenthesis mine.)

Your mind, renewed by the truth that transforms you and that brings the real you out, must become the primary influence of your eyes. That is how you’ll see what’s really real . . . and live by faith in Christ. That’s also what will affect you best—you’ll like it! Think of going through your days with the sunglasses of truth over your otherwise lying eyes, and you’ve got it.

This is why we set our hearts and minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:1-3). We don’t focus upon the unseen so we’ll feel better and have a happy day, though it’s likely that we will. We do it because that’s where we find ourselves, that’s how we discover who God is and how well off He has made us in relation to Himself and to each other—perfect! Holy people, righteous people, recognized throughout the heavens as well-fit with God. Looking to the “unseen” is where we find that, and it’s going to affect us. This is our approach to life, not because we’re pretending, but because it’s accurate! We’re seeing the truth. From that focus, our lying eyes cannot lead us astray and foul our approach to life.

Grow accustomed to relying upon the unseen when you’re with people. They probably won’t “see” what you do, but they can. And at least you’ll be seeing how they actually are—in truth—and that’s going to affect you beautifully.

Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.