presbyopia

There are times when we look through the lens of time only to realize that some of our memories are faded like old black and white photos in our box of mementos. As we age, not only does our memory begin to deteriorate, but as Shakespeare once wrote in his “Seven Ages of Man” - sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything (from As You Like It)

The physical visual condition that causes our inability to focus sharply because of loss of elasticity of the eye’s lens is a condition known as Presbyopia. If you are middle aged, you will need to possibly consider reading glasses and yes, your eyesight with deteriorate with aging. The Greek presbys simply means “old man” and presbyteros meaning “priest or elder” are the origins of the word.

I recently listened to a sermon by Tim Dilena who shared that we need to “open the eyes of our hearts” to those around us. When we see others through our mortal eyes, we have a distorted picture of what a person is really like. When we look through God’s eyes, we can see others as frail human beings that need love, just like we do.

In our Christian walk, there are many times when the lines of our faith are fuzzy, dull or unfocused. We are living in a world when culture can often define our way of living, our attitudes and sometimes even our beliefs. We have lost our first love like the church of Ephesus. Jesus encouraged them to find that fire again and continue where they were doing well. We can see, but we need to hone in on areas that will increase our faith. Sardis and Laodicea, another two of the seven churches of Revelation, were told to find their passion for Jesus again and open their hearts to him. But how? There are numerous biblical principles, examples and parables to guide us, but maybe today, one could start with a single verse:

 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 1 Peter 3:8