CROSS-EYED PEOPLE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n HAVE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n THE BEST VISION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n <\/p>\n Vision… what is that?\u00a0 Is it just sight?\u00a0 How can you see better if your vision is scrambled?<\/p>\n Google any major organization and you’ll probably see a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement posted on their website.\u00a0 The Mission Statement simply describes what they’re doing.\u00a0 It will use some fluffy language to define the products or services they offer. But the Vision Statement goes deeper.\u00a0 Instead of just describing what they are doing, the Vision Statement describes where they want to be.\u00a0 Vision takes in the whole substance of the organization’s existence.\u00a0 It looks at their strengths and weaknesses and then imagines what they could be… if only…<\/p>\n The idea of “Vision” also applies to the Christian Life.\u00a0 We long to be done with sin and to clothe ourselves with God’s righteousness.\u00a0 That’s church-speak for saying that we really really want to be “in sync” with God.\u00a0 God made us for a purpose, and like the corporate vision, we know we’re at our best when we live out that purpose.<\/p>\n But the analogy between a organization’s Vision Statement and a Christian’s Purpose reaches a point where it begins to diverge.\u00a0 In the corporate world, the organization creates a Plan (frequently a “Five Year Plan”) which is designed to move them towards fulfilling their Vision.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 In the corporate world you look at your own strengths and say that if we work hard enough we can reach that vision.\u00a0 “If only…”\u00a0 But with God, there is no “If Only.”\u00a0 God’s vision of completeness is a promise.<\/p>\n 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:<\/p>\n Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.<\/span><\/p>\n ASV<\/span><\/p>\n Or, as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:<\/span><\/p>\n If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves;<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Jesus didn’t come to judge; He came to give us a richer, deeper life…to live life “to the full.”\u00a0<\/p>\n I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n NIV<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The best things in life don’t normally fit into our vision of things.\u00a0 Jesus tells us to set other priorities and to see things in a different way…<\/p>\n “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. <\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n NIV<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We need to develop practices and habits that follow a vision of living with God.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The symbol of the Cross inspires many different meanings.\u00a0 To many, the cross simply represents a religion.\u00a0 It’s something Maybe a better analogy is to consider the cross as a door.\u00a0 It represents an invitation from God.\u00a0 Not to pain and suffering, but to grace and forgiveness.\u00a0 A Cross-Eyed Vision is one which envisions the possibility of living out the life that we were designed to live.\u00a0 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,\u00a0 change, and reconciliation.\u00a0 That door looks like a cross.\u00a0 Jesus died on a cross to make it possible to open that door to you.\u00a0 Somehow, it’s all beyond our understanding, but a Cross-Eyed vision leads us to the door of a deeper, more fulfilling life.\u00a0 More than a Five Year Plan, a Cross-Eyed Vision is a lifelong journey that leads into eternity.<\/p>\n So what’s\u00a0 your Vision?\u00a0 Is it a Five Year plan to achieve a life of ease,\u00a0 fun, and moment-by-moment happiness?\u00a0\u00a0 Are you dreaming about paying off your car, or closing your mortgage, or enjoying retirement?\u00a0 Or, are your hungry for something that’s not temporary?\u00a0 Does your vision go beyond the “live for the moment” periods of happiness, or does it reach into an eternal relationship with our Creator?\u00a0<\/p>\n Cross-Eyed People have the best Vision.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Signboard-2019-09-24-Cross-Eyed-People-Best-Vision-_IMG_3636-300x225.jpg\")
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nVision<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Prov 29:18<\/span><\/h4>\n
\nBut when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
John 10:10<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Matt 6:19-21<\/span><\/h4>\n
Cross-Eyed Vision<\/span><\/h3>\n
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that’s placed on top of a church building to let you know that it is a church.\u00a0\u00a0 The cross is also an instrument of torture and punishment.\u00a0 Jesus was nailed to a cross and bled and suffocated to death.\u00a0 Both of these interpretations are true, but to fulfill a vision of living in harmony with our Creator we need a deeper understanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n