Guard the Inner Eye

 

'Welcome to Divination,' said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a 

winged armchair in front of the fire. 'My name is Professor Trelawney. 

You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the 

hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye.'

-Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban

 

So my mother is well-known for her consistent use of the phrases "Bless your heart" and "Oh my stars." But when difficult decisions were at hand, it was time to employ a special phrase: "Oh, I wish I had a crystal ball." Can you imagine, my mother, the clairvoyant? Washing away the peanut butter and jelly on our palms so she could read our future... checking the dregs at the bottom of our cereal bowls to see what the day had in store... reading our Go Fish cards to warn us of impending danger... 

Actually, as silly as psychic powers may seem, when you look at the root meaning of the word 'clairvoyant,' there's really nothing silly or shady about it. In French, the word 'clair' simply means 'clear' and the word 'voyant' means 'seeing.' The ability to see things clearly actually sounds like a pretty awesome gift to have. And luckily, it's available to each of us- regardless of how well we communicate with immaterial material or how in tune we are with the telekinetic energy within. 

The human eye is a pretty awesome invention. Basically, the process of seeing goes something like this... Light enters the eye through the cornea- the clear covering on your eye that protects it from foreign particles. Behind the cornea lies the iris. The iris constricts and relaxes, determining how much light will enter into the pupil at any given time. The light then passes through to the lens. The sole function of the lens is to then focus the light rays onto the retina.The retina functions like the film in a camera and then sends messages to the optic nerve so that our brain can interpret and respond to what it is we are seeing. 

To significantly over-simplify: 

Anatomy of the human eye: 

LIGHT --> LENS -->RETINA --> OPTIC NERVE

Process: LIGHT --> FOCUS --> PERCEPTION

In terms of spiritual vision, Jesus is the Light of the World after which we are to seek. As we focus upon Jesus Christ, we will perceive truth. Line upon line, our vision will be expanded. 

But just as there are physical conditions that may prevent someone from being able to physically see, we must also be aware of the potential for spiritual blindness.

Closed eyes: The simplest and most easily reversed condition causing temporary blindness is called closed-eyes-itis. This is caused when someone becomes so inflamed with fear, pride, or casualness that they either forget or refuse to simply open their eyes. Matthew 13:15: "Their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

Blindness: There are various diseases, defects, or injuries that can cause physical blindness. For those who are fortunate enough to bypass these physical complications, Satan loves to tempt them to use their seeing eyes to watch inappropriate movies, to scan through vain magazines, to fill our minds with words from books while neglecting to ever read His words. Through misuse of our eyes, we may eventually cause spiritual blindness and find it difficult to perceive spiritual things.

Near-Sightedness: I'm not technically blind, but without my contacts, I may as well be. I am considered near-sighted, so when I choose not to wear my contacts, I am capable only of seeing things right in front of me. When we take our focus off of the Savior, how easy it is to lose sight of our eternal perspective. 

Cataracts: A cataract is a cloudy lens that must be removed in order to restore sight. Unless we cling relentlessly to the rod of iron, it will be easy to lose our way in today's mists of darkness. 

So how do we avoid or overcome spiritual blindness? There is only one Way.

In John Chapter 9, Jesus comes across a man who had been blind since his birth. Jesus then "spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle" and anointed the eyes of the blind man (vs. 6). The lesson to be learned was not that spit, mud, and water heal blindness, but rather that spiritual perception follows focus on the Savior. The man was anointed, washed, and was then obedient. This is what leads to spiritual healing and spiritual sight.  

 Mark 10:51-52:  

"And Jesus answered and said unto him, 

What wilt thou that I should do for thee? The blind man said unto him, 

Lord, that I might receive my sight. 

And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. 

And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the Way."