I have had to make a couple of trips to the optometrist lately, and I’ve been reminded of the importance of vision. If our vision is as it should be, it is one of those things that we tend to take for granted. But if our vision is blurred it is hard to ignore. I wish it were the same with our spiritual vision.

Often when we have a blurred vision spiritually, it happens so gradually that we are really off-kilter before we know it. Most of the time we don’t blindly go off course we just do it one misstep at a time until where we need to be is no longer in sight.

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” We usually read the first half of this verse as meaning that we need to have a goal or a plan to follow to keep us on track. The second half of the verse is talking about the law, God’s law. When we look at the context of this verse, the verse above it is about a father correcting a son and the verse after is talking about a servant being corrected.

God’s law should be the vision for our life. He has laid it out for us to see clearly. So, is this verse saying that without goals we perish, or without God’s law we perish? It is saying both. Our goals should be to follow God’s law to plan out our lives according to his word and his will for our lives, always remembering that there he offers grace and mercy when we mess up.

Let’s ask God to help us see his word with fresh eyes so that we can clearly see his vision for our lives. Then, let’s strive to make his vision our vision and our reality as we follow his law and abide in his mercy.

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18) (NIV)