Life works best in balance. Left and right. Proteins and carbs. Male and female. Work and play. Night and day. Truth and grace. Offense and defense. Waylon and Willie. Life works best in balance.
Nowhere does this reality apply more than in the application of vision.
By vision, I don’t mean just what we see, but how we see the world and our lives in it. Remember Proverbs 29:18…
Where there is no vision, the people perish…
Proverbs 29:18
That word vision refers to communication from God. It’s not just what we see, but more significantly it refers to how we see. Vision-ing is actually a skill that takes practice and intentionality to cultivate and develop. When it comes to developing vision for my life, for how we see the world and our place in it, we have to be both near-sighted and far-sighted.
Near-sighted vision consists of seeing where I need to grow. It begins with a look inside and the prayer that asks, “God, where do I need to grow? Where do I need to develop and get stronger in my relationship with you? What gifts and strengths that you’ve given me do I need to build and develop? What weaknesses and sins do I need to confess and have you flush out of me?”
Far-sighted vision builds on and grows out of spiritual near-sightedness; it moves from seeing where I need to grow to seeing where we need to go. Far-sightedness establishes balance. It creates a healthy tension between appropriate introspection and the mandatory others-ness of Christ. It’s the capacity to see that life really isn’t all about me.
Far-sighted takes into account what God communicates to us individually about where we need to grow—that’s near-sighted—and then takes us outside ourselves. Far-sighted considers our growth and asks, “God, where do you want me to go with what you grow? What do you want me to do that furthers your purposes in this world? To what and whom should I commit myself and how do I APPLY what I know in what I do?”
In terms of near-sighted and far-sighted vision, my life has to be about both-and rather than an either-or. God articulated an incredibly clear and compelling vision statement through Paul. As he describes the role of pastors and teachers and church leaders, he points out the goal of growth, the end game of maturity:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13
Unity in faith and knowledge, and mature, attaining to the whole measure of Christ… Something that profound, something that precious, does not come cheap or easy. There is no spiritual liposuction, no magic bullet, three-easy-steps-to-spiritual-growth-and-maturity. It is relationship. It is messy. It is honest. It is transparent. It is consistent. And, above all, it is worth it.
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…
1 John 5:3
There it is again: love for God. It’s relationship. Even the commands of God are ultimately relational. Think about where you are in four very telling areas:
Ø Baptism—have you followed Christ in baptism? Usually—I’ve never seen an exception, but there may be one somewhere (but probably not)—when folks resist or neglect baptism, there’s an authority issue behind it. They haven’t fully submitted to Christ, Scripture, and/or spiritual leadership.
Ø Commitment to a local church—are you committed to a particular church, a specific group of people who identify themselves as that church?
Ø Money—it’s not yours anyways. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Tithing is the clearest expression of submission/obedience in this arena.
Ø Sex—do you celebrate the gift of your sexuality by guarding it and using it to worship God with it, fully submitting it to him for his pleasure and purposes?
This list is by no means comprehensive. But my personal experience has been that when God has me in these areas, He’s pretty much got all of me. The fog lifts, and my vision clears for the next step he wants me to take.
© 2006, Mac Richard.
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