I’m Having Cataracts Removed

As I write, the letters on the screen appear slightly blurry. In fact, everything seems a bit clouded. A week ago, I underwent cataract surgery on my right eye, and in a week, I will have the same procedure on my left.

My right eye was the worst, but the left is trying to catch up. Without surgery, it will become just as bad, if not worse. Looking through my right eye felt like peering through Saran Wrap. At night, lights—especially oncoming headlights—appeared brighter, more prominent, and fuzzy. Fortunately, my left eye still functioned well enough for me to drive.

I’m having new lenses installed that I hope will allow me to stop wearing glasses. They are expensive, but I plan to live long enough for them to save me the cost of glasses I would otherwise have to buy. Not needing to wear glasses will be well worth it for me. I’m also considering how handsome I’ll look without four eyes. Look out, George Clooney!

Sometimes, life feels as if cataracts cloud it, doesn’t it? Circumstances surround our lives, making everything seem fuzzy. I remember after my wife passed away, my life felt fuzzy for a year or so. I saw everything through the lens of grief. This often occurs for people going through a divorce as well. When your child goes to college, you wonder what home will be like without them. “What am I going to do now?” is a common thought when you’ve been laid off. Retirement can also leave us facing an unclear future.

Sometimes, we may feel restless and uncertain about our direction in life. It's hard to imagine what we want our future to look like. This type of uncertainty makes us feel uneasy and perhaps even anxious.

This condition also manifests in our spiritual lives. How often have you heard someone say, “I just don’t know where God wants me,” or “I don’t feel like God is listening to my prayers”? Sometimes, we experience spiritual dryness, which makes our spirit feel parched.

Spiritual cataracts can also obscure the truth. We overlook a hidden sin as if we can conceal this aspect of our lives from reality.

This situation befell a man whom Jesus encountered. A young man approached the Teacher with what seemed like a reasonable question. “What must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus instructed him to follow the laws, to which the self-assured religious man replied that he had indeed accomplished this task. I guess I’m in, he must have thought.

Jesus looked at this proud young man with a bit of sadness. His spiritual vision was clearly clouded. He was a good rule keeper, so the Master presented the seeker with one more law: “Go sell everything you have, give it to the poor, then follow me.” 

With the advent of this requirement, the haze surrounding the wealthy young businessman dissipated in the morning sun. Or should I say, “Son?” Jesus was performing spiritual surgery on this man, clearing away his foggy vision. He wanted him to see his spiritual poverty clearly. “If you want laws, I’ll give you some that you either can’t or won’t keep. Then what will you do? You have a greed problem that has nothing to do with law-keeping. It’s a condition of your heart that keeps you from God and eternal life.”

Don’t you hate it when God removes a spiritual cataract, and you can finally see the person you are without the fog? You can go to church, read the Bible, refrain from swearing, perform a few good deeds, and not cheat on your spouse or beat your kids. Your life looks pretty impressive from the outside. You are a good rulekeeper. Then, one day, the Master Surgeon performs a procedure on you, and your condition becomes clear as glass. You are filled with all sorts of thoughts and actions that would prevent you from eternal life. It’s like someone who is confronted with the harsh reality that they are an alcoholic or addicted to drugs. It’s a hard pill to swallow. Sometimes, walking around with clouded vision feels more comfortable than seeing clearly.

This young man left feeling dejected, which saddened Jesus. This wealthy mover and shaker had serious misplaced priorities that were preventing him from attaining what he truly desired. The young man perceived heaven and an eternal relationship with God as a transaction. “You tell me what to do, I do it, and we’re set.” Transaction completed.

His attitude was an adventure in missing the point.

Society needs rules and laws to function effectively. Without limits and restrictions, our culture would quickly descend into chaos. I am fairly certain I would drive faster on many roads if those pesky speed limit signs weren’t everywhere. My car will not even idol at a mere twenty-five miles per hour! And what’s the deal with those “No Turn On Red” intersections?

Pennsylvanians receive around 3,196 traffic tickets daily. These violations generate approximately $444 million in revenue for the state each year, so when you get your next ticket, take comfort in knowing you’re contributing valuable resources to our state budget.

However, if you have driven in places like New Delhi and Bangkok, you likely appreciate traffic laws. Look up the word “chaos,” and you might see images of traffic in one of these cities. My prayer life expanded significantly while navigating the streets of New Delhi.

We need laws because we are all lawbreakers.

God was also skilled at creating laws. The Old Testament is filled with them. He made exactly 613 edicts. Some may seem silly, but who am I to argue with the Almighty? The religious leaders during Jesus’ time loved laws. They believed God fell short of His law quota, so they added over 300 new laws to interpret God’s instructions. I suppose they felt He wasn’t specific enough and required some legislative assistance. Many believed their laws took precedence over the Lawgiver’s version. That seems a bit presumptuous, but they were confident men who clearly had too much time on their hands.

One of the religious leaders once asked Jesus about laws. “What’s the most important law of all?” they inquired. For the Teacher, it was a no-brainer.

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”   (Matthew 22:37-40)

You gotta love a guy who can condense 1,000 regulations into two! Perhaps Congress could take a lesson.

Back to our lawkeeper, the rich young businessman. As I stated, this man viewed his relationship with God as a transaction. It’s like purchasing a hamburger at McDonald’s. The company offers you a product for a certain price. If you want the product, you simply pay the price, and they give you the product – a tasty, simulated meat sandwich. Transaction completed. We both win.

But what if a Big Mac costs $2.00 and you only have $1.50? Do you think the fifteen-year-old at the counter will share a signature sandwich with you? I doubt it unless you’re a close friend, in which case he might slip you a burger on the down low.

God offers heaven with just 613 stipulations. It sounds like a pretty good deal for eternal life. The rich young man believed it was. But how does one even remember 613 laws, let alone follow them all?  That’s a lot of transactions! And what if you did keep all those laws right up the day before you die, but then you screwed one up? What then? “No burger for you, pal.” You are not getting a $2.00 hamburger for $1.99.

Transactional relations do not work well with God. He’s perfect, and you are not. You cannot pay His price. And even if you could, your connection would be shallow. Who wants to go through eternity bartering with the Almighty? You’d always lose.

So, Jesus turned the tables. He took two of the original Old Testament laws and set them as the single eternal life standard. Live by the law of love, for that is what God wanted from you in the first place.

And the law of love is transformational, not transactional. Love is a condition of the heart, not the head. With love, two plus two does not always equal four. It might multiply to eight or even twelve. Love doesn’t want the hamburger, it wants a relationship with the person selling the sandwich.

The young man was asking the wrong question. Eternal life is not the goal. The ultimate aim is to cultivate a meaningful relationship with your Maker, which conveniently includes the added benefit of eternal life. And here’s the kicker: it’s free! It costs you nothing. The guy in line ahead of you has already paid the asking price of perfectly adhering to all 613 laws– including the law of love. Just so you know, Jesus is the guy in front of you.

Jesus desires a relationship with you that transforms your heart. Living by love changes you into the person you were meant to be and so much more. When you embrace love, you begin to ask different questions that are non-transactional. Your life with God isn’t about following rules; it’s about loving Him and extending that love to everyone else.

However, rule-keeping is sometimes our default system of thought. Transactional relationships are not as messy as ones guided by love. Love requires “on-the-go” decision-making. A beneficial rule or guideline in one situation might not be the best course of action in another. Love motivates one to make the best decisions to enhance relationships with other people. Love makes us grow up. It transforms us.

But sometimes, our relationship with God or others has a cataract. Our vision becomes blurred when we treat it as transactional. “If my husband would just do _____, we could be closer.” “If my child would stop acting like a child, we could move forward.” “I put in my forty hours; my boss is expected to appreciate me.” “The guy at table three is treating me like his servant. He’s getting crummy service.”

“I went to church even though I didn’t feel like it. God owes me.” “God doesn’t care about me. He didn’t answer my prayer.” “God let this happen to me even though I try to be a good Christian.” “I got baptized; God owes me heaven.” “I even tithe my income, yet He let me lose my job.” “God won’t take this burden from me. He doesn’t love me.”

The eye doctor informed me years ago that I was developing a cataract that would eventually need to be removed. I didn’t give it much thought over the years until one day I noticed my vision was blurry. The progression of this condition was gradual; I couldn’t perceive it on a day-to-day basis. But when the blurriness set in, I realized I had to make a choice – have it removed or risk going blind. The choice was obvious.

Our relationship with God and with others can deteriorate as well. We might be well served to do a little personal “eye exam.”

God is not selling eternity. He’s looking for friends and children who just want to love Him and then do the same with everyone else.

Live Inspired!

Don Mark