The Signboard said:
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CROSS-EYED PEOPLE HAVE THE BEST VISION |
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Vision
Vision… what is that? Is it just sight? How can you see better if your vision is scrambled?
Google any major organization and you’ll probably see a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement posted on their website. The Mission Statement simply describes what they’re doing. It will use some fluffy language to define the products or services they offer. 
But the Vision Statement goes deeper. Instead of just describing what they are doing, the Vision Statement describes where they want to be. Vision takes in the whole substance of the organization’s existence. It looks at their strengths and weaknesses and then imagines what they could be… if only…
The idea of “Vision” also applies to the Christian Life. We long to be done with sin and to clothe ourselves with God’s righteousness. That’s church-speak for saying that we really really want to be “in sync” with God. God made us for a purpose, and like the corporate vision, we know we’re at our best when we live out that purpose.
But the analogy between a organization’s Vision Statement and a Christian’s Purpose reaches a point where it begins to diverge. In the corporate world, the organization creates a Plan (frequently a “Five Year Plan”) which is designed to move them towards fulfilling their Vision. But in the Real-Life world- the place where each of use as humans seeks to answer the question “why am I here?” – we need to turn to faith in order to create a plan. In the corporate world you look at your own strengths and say that if we work hard enough we can reach that vision. “If only…” But with God, there is no “If Only.” God’s vision of completeness is a promise.
The Bible and our faith paint a vision of a deeply fulfilling life, walking in unity with the God who created us. Here are a few verses:
Prov 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
ASV
Or, as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:
If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.
Jesus didn’t come to judge; He came to give us a richer, deeper life…to live life “to the full.”
John 10:10
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
NIV
The best things in life don’t normally fit into our vision of things. Jesus tells us to set other priorities and to see things in a different way…
Matt 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
NIV
We need to develop practices and habits that follow a vision of living with God.
Cross-Eyed Vision
The symbol of the Cross inspires many different meanings. To many, the cross simply represents a religion. It’s something 
that’s placed on top of a church building to let you know that it is a church. The cross is also an instrument of torture and punishment. Jesus was nailed to a cross and bled and suffocated to death. Both of these interpretations are true, but to fulfill a vision of living in harmony with our Creator we need a deeper understanding.
Maybe a better analogy is to consider the cross as a door. It represents an invitation from God. Not to pain and suffering, but to grace and forgiveness. A Cross-Eyed Vision is one which envisions the possibility of living out the life that we were designed to live. If your vision is one of money, pride, success and keeping life to yourself, the cross tells us that God has opened a door of forgiveness, change, and reconciliation. That door looks like a cross. Jesus died on a cross to make it possible to open that door to you. Somehow, it’s all beyond our understanding, but a Cross-Eyed vision leads us to the door of a deeper, more fulfilling life. More than a Five Year Plan, a Cross-Eyed Vision is a lifelong journey that leads into eternity.
So what’s your Vision? Is it a Five Year plan to achieve a life of ease, fun, and moment-by-moment happiness? Are you dreaming about paying off your car, or closing your mortgage, or enjoying retirement? Or, are your hungry for something that’s not temporary? Does your vision go beyond the “live for the moment” periods of happiness, or does it reach into an eternal relationship with our Creator?
Cross-Eyed People have the best Vision.
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