“Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, ‘We have seen remarkable things today.’” (Luke 5:26, NIV)

As a very young child, I never understood what it meant to be able to see clearly. In fact, I had to squint my eyes in order to be able to see at all, and even then, the world was truly a blur. I did notice that others didn’t squint their eyes when they looked at things, and I remember wondering about this.

My cousin, who was two years younger than me, must have wondered why I squinted my eyes, because she would often mimic me. I think she must have thought I was making fun of people, but this was absolutely not the case. If I didn’t squint my eyes, I didn’t see anything at all.

As a result of all this, I quickly learned that it’s difficult to survive in a sight-oriented world. Take school, for example. I couldn’t see what my teacher wrote on the board, and I was often confused in gym because I simply couldn’t see. When watching TV, I would continually hear from my well-meaning parents: “Don’t squint!” or “You are way too close to the television! It isn’t good for your eyes.” They would then proceed to move my chair to a position that seemed to me to be kilometers away from the little box, and the moving pictures would become nothing but a blur. Needless to say, T.V. was boring. It was definitely not for me.

It wasn’t until I was in Grade 2 that a doctor at school finally discovered I was visually impaired. He referred me to an optometrist, and a few days later, I received my first glasses. You can imagine how I felt when I put those glasses on for the first time. I started to cry: “I can see! I can see!”

From then on, my visual problems were a thing of the past. I could read what my teacher wrote on the board, I could see the TV from across the room, and I no longer needed to squint. It was like I had been placed into a completely new world, one with beauty everywhere, and I quickly fell in love with everything that I saw. To me it was like I had reached heaven-on-earth.

In third world countries, there are many people, both children and adults, who cannot see well. These people often have no money for glasses, and they depend on us. Donating our old glasses to these countries will give them the opportunity I was given in Grade 2: it will give them the opportunity to see.

Let’s remember that bringing sight to people was a huge part of Jesus’ ministry. He knew the value of sight, and He loved people enough to want to open their eyes. Do we have that kind of love? Remember: “If I have faith that says to a mountain, ‘Jump,’ and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, NIV)

Bring this amazing world to those who cannot see by donating your old glasses. You will bring them happiness beyond comprehension, for the gift of sight is truly a wondrous gift: “Mom, I can see! Wow!”

There are also many in the world who are spiritually blind. Let’s pray also for their spiritual vision, do that they can see the Truth of God’s Word, so that they can see the love of Christ that reaches out to them, so that they will put their Faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. 

Rob Chaffart