Spiritual Sight

Some things that we consider to be burdens are actually great gifts. Some things are gifts that we forget to consider at all. These come in the form of difficulties that lead to character strength and the grace that’s offered when we simply can’t muster any strength. We neglect them because it’s just too easy to fall into our culture’s ideals. Culture’s influence makes us impatient to reap the benefits of our efforts. Many spiritual gifts take time to develop. We operate in a ‘get it now’ society. As a result we settle for things of worldly value instead of searching for eternal value.

 In “Paul’s Letter to American Christians.” Martin Luther King Jr. wrote: “You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live.” This is even truer now than it was 63 years ago. I’ve begun to think of this as the battle between “fleshly sight” and “spiritual sight”. The desires of the flesh seem so imposing, so powerful, that they distract us from recognizing our spiritual needs.

There was a regular customer that would come into the bank where I used to work. He was a blind man probably in his late 50’s. For privacy reasons, we’ll call him Raymond. We all enjoyed Raymond’s presence. He was just a jovial, easy-going guy. I remember one time he came in, sucking down a milkshake from the Milkshake Factory across the street. “Hi Raymond!” I greeted him in the lobby. “Hi! Bianca, right? Do you ever go to the Milkshake Factory? These are really good!” With a slurping sound, he’d reached the end of the drink.

“I should think so, Raymond! You’re already done with yours!” He gave it a test shake. “Aw, man! That went fast. You’ll have to go get one on your lunch. “I might do that! Would you like me to throw your cup away?”

I tossed his cup into the small can by the front desk, he placed his hand -still cold from the shake- on my forearm, and I guided him to a teller window. After his transaction, we chatted on our walk back to the door. I can’t remember what we talked about but at some point he stopped.”You know what? You’re really cool!”  I gave an incredulous chuckle. “Raymond, I’ve sure never heard that before!” He continued towards the door. “Well I think so, anyway.”

I thanked him and wished him a good day as I pressed the silver exit button. I shook my head as the door swung open and he began tapping his cane on the sidewalk. If he only knew how nervous it made me the first couple of times I watched him venture out into the bustling city.  I would sort of cringe as if he was as vulnerable as a baby bird out there. I was anything but cool. I caught my reflection in the glass door. There I was with my knee-length pencil skirt and buttoned-up cardigan. Definitely not cool.

Of course, that’s not how Raymond “saw” me. My appearance couldn’t get in the way of what he thought of me. Now please don’t think I’m saying that I’m actually cool and that Raymond was the only one to recognize it. I don’t care to be cool. I’m happy being whatever way I am, as long as I’m growing. I am saying that we too often let the material distract us from what we should be seeing. The things we perceive as our immediate needs take the foreground and then we lose sight of what’s really important. I’m not talking about just physical sight, I’m talking about vision; looking deeper into our world. It is spiritual sight that allows us to see the bigger picture. It’s spiritual sight helps us recognize eternal value.

In another sermon “Unfilled Dreams”, Dr. King talks about great men who began great works, but never lived to see their dreams realized. It seems eerily prophetic now.  David Garrow’s “A Cross to Bear”, accounts that King was acutely aware of the realities of his situation. The thought that he might lose his life was something he often considered. However, it was a cross he was not pained to bear. Most likely he considered it a priceless gift. The cause was worth more than his life because it was a “righteous” cause. King’s spiritual sight was far-reaching.

I think back to my friend Raymond and those times I worried a out him on the busy sidewalk. The reality is that sometimes, out in that world, he must rely on help from others; we all must. He probably has a better grasp of this than most. It’s a gift to have that understanding. There’s a freedom that comes from letting go of the pride of self-sufficiency. We all need help in some way. We can be both vulnerable and strong. And to receive kindness from others; well of course that’s another great gift. It’s a blessing that we should be happy to receive and even happier to give away. I don’t know the extent to which you struggle with these things. I know I do. But we can all learn, by the grace of God, to set our eyes and hearts upon the eternal .