Well, I did it. I got contacts yesterday and boy they feel weird to me. I have been using progressive lens glasses for quite a few years and I am rough on glasses and I am too active to keep from breaking them, dropping them, sweating them into a fogged state, or losing them. So, I got fitted for contacts. But I had to get a very distinct contact that can handle the needs of my eyes. The contacts I needed were for monovision.
Here is an explanation of what Monovision is and does.
Simply stated, this form of visual correction provides the customer with a lens or laser surgical correction that re-configures the eye either for improved distance vision or for better near focus. Allowing the dominant or “sighting” eye to play the lead in viewing distant objects, the optical specialist strives to correct the other eye in tandem so as to achieve best focus on near objects. When distance vision or near-sighting is very good in one eye, satisfactory monovision can often be achieved with the use of only one lens on the dominant eye for optimal farsighted correction or on the non-sighting eye for nearsighted focus. In the majority of cases, though, some refractive correction is required for both eyes to achieve satisfactory visual balance between the two eyes. Adaptation to monovisual correction requires a sort of reprogramming of the brain’s visual neural pathways. Thus, it can take some time before the brain has become accustomed to processing visual information so that the eyes can readily focus on far and near objects simultaneously.
In my case, I have contacts on both eyes and they are definitely trying to adjust to correct any vision problems. So far, so good. But, yesterday my daughter and son in law came over to the house. They asked how my contacts were doing and I said, “They are fine, except the right one is kind of painful and blurry.” My daughter looked closely at my eye and laughed and said, “Dad. That contact is doubled over.” I said, “Oh that explains why I can’t see very good.” So they helped me fix it and today things are much clearer.
Our Christian life is a lot like Monovision. Too many times we cannot see the things that we need to correct that are up front and close to us. Those sins or bad habits have become so much a part of our life that it makes it difficult to see it clearly and deal with it. It also affects our vision for what God wants to do in the days ahead in our life. Our vision of better days can become fuzzy and we doubt God and get discouraged. What kind of “contact” is God wanting to make with us to get our close and far away vision corrected. He wants us to press on and take hold of those things He has prepared for us, but we must deal with those bad habits that are holding us back from seeing that Godly future. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi and shared this word with them in Chapter 3 verses 13 and 14.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This is a lesson in correcting our vision for future God moments and to see those future prospects we need to move out or away from the past sins that entangled us at one time or another. This is where God’s grace is the key to unlocking the chains of sin that are binding us and keeping us from walking in freedom in Christ. In The Message translation of Psalm 103 it says, “God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. God doesn’t hold our sin against us and His grace is sufficient for any sin as stated in 2 Corinthians 12:9 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. So His corrective vision for our life makes our vision of ourselves clear because of His great love and forgiveness. When we correct that vision it changes how we look at our future, or the distant life to come.
When we internalize our sin, instead of leaving it behind it causes us to take our eyes off of where we should be looking. To correct this part of the vision problem means we fix our up close vision….DONE. Then we fix our eyes where they should be. Not on ourselves, but on Jesus. Hebrews 12:2-3 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Of course, this is totally against any human thinking. We are so prideful that when we mess up, instead of receiving God’s grace, we run our own race. With our own standard, our own power, and our own memory. The problem with us trying to make it on our own strength is we will fail miserably again and again and again. WE ARE SINNERS. FACE IT!! But then walk out of it through God’s grace. When I sin I have no problem looking to Jesus for my forgiveness and then looking at all of the possibilities for my future immersed in His grace. I can’t live and see a positive outlook without it. My future, or my life out there is better, and my vision is improved when I see myself as free from the penalty of sin and focus more on living in that freedom because of God’s grace.
Vision corrected. One part of this monovision thing that is probably going to take some adjusting to get used to is where it says, “Your brain will need to adjust to what the contact lenses are showing it.” In other words, I am retraining my brain for seeing correctly by the power of the contacts. One strength for up close and one strength for distance. To see how to live our lives and to keep our vision clear, our way of thinking will have to adjust to this new “forgiven” way of thinking. The enemy would try to get us to take our contacts out and quit because the process is frustrating, but we must let the process finish out by “staying with it.” In other words, give it to Jesus and don’t take it back because you cannot handle it!! Here is where the scripture in Proverbs 3:5-6 really begins to make a lot of sense. TRUST GOD!! Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
It’s amazing how everything comes back to FAITH! But it does. So trust God in this process and let your thinking readjust to your new found forgiveness and your vision for the future will be much clearer and much better. Monovison is the process and making our “contacts” with God in the right way clears our vision for now and for the future. Start your exam today in God’s Word and see what prescription God has for you.
The Pilgrimage continues…..
David Warren