Letter: Do not be short sighted, for “this night your life will be demanded of you”
Dear God-fearing DuCo friends,
Recently my eyes have changed in a new way. I’ve always been nearsighted and wore contacts. But just recently, I’ve lost some of my nearsightedness and now I require progressive lenses. It’s that or go to CVS and buy a pair of ‘cheaters’. I
’m not satisfied with the progressive lenses. I’ve learned that in order to improve one’s nearsightedness, one has to sacrifice a little bit of their farsighted feature in their lenses. Not only this, my doc said I also now have to schedule my first colonoscopy. In regard to the latter, thankfully, there is no spiritual analogy.
Oftentimes, when I’m going on a journey or a long drive, I’ll wear my old contact lenses so I can have the best farsightedness or distance vision. This reminds me of a quote by St. John Vianney, which some of you may know I’ve mentioned a few times: “The eyes of the world see no further than this life but the eyes of a Christian see deep into eternity”.
The question is, how far is your spiritual sight? Is it nearsighted or is it farsighted? Can you see no further than this life? Or can you see “deep into eternity”?
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus speaks about the one who is spiritually nearsighted. That is, the one who only stores up treasure for themselves in this life and not in the next life. He says to them, “you fool, this night your life will be demanded of you” (Luke 12:13-21).
We should all ask, have I created such a kingdom for myself in this life that I cannot see or have the desire to store up treasure in heaven? Many are so burdened by their own possessions, their full schedule, their self-centered focus, that they have no time for God and they cannot see what comes ahead in the distance—death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Our Lord is urgently calling us to invest in our eternal life with spiritual assets that will not depreciate: assets that will lead us to the heart of Christ—repentance, prayer and obedience to God. This investment will allow us to be with Him for all eternity. May we acquire the spiritual lenses necessary to have the eyes of a Christian to see deep into eternity.
In Christ,
Father Jeff Read
Holy Family Church
