“I counsel you to buy from me… salve to put on your eyes so you can see.”   Rev 3:18

I got my first pair of glasses when I was nine years old, in grade four. They immediately helped all my friends to see clearly how funny looking I was! But that was pretty short-lived. In the long run they really helped me to see much more clearly. As God’s people we need to be able to see clearly too. We need good hindsight in order to learn from our past experiences. We need insight in order to understand ourselves and what’s going on around us. And we need foresight in order to see what’s coming and be prepared for it. Especially now, at the start of a new year, we need to be able to see what lies ahead. Unless we can see ahead we are always reluctant to move ahead. An extended time of prayer is really like a trip to the eye doctor. If our vision is blurred by too much stress, prayer can bring relief. If our gaze has shifted off the Lord and begun regard other things, that can be corrected in prayer. If you are unable to see through the tears, God can wipe away all tears from your eyes in the place of prayer. If you are blinded by your biases and misbeliefs, time with God will open your eyes to new possibilities and opportunities. The cure is to anoint our eyes with salve. This tells us that true vision is a work of the Holy Spirit within our own spirit. It’s not the result of research and calculation. We purchase it with our time. The more time we are willing to spend in The Great Optometrist’s chair, the more he enables us to see!