Cheryl Mendoza

I have those transitions lenses.  You know, the kind that automatically get dark in sunlight.  On one hand I love them, but on the other, they are kind of a pain sometimes.

I find that in the summer, when the sun is very strong, the lenses become very dark.  That is great when I am outside, but if I run into the house, a store, or my personal favorite into church, I am concerned for my safety.  Why?  Well, my glasses are still so dark that I am hindered from seeing clearly.  Like I said, the worst is church.  When I go to my seat, the lights are low making it impossible to see anything well with my glasses on.

So as I read opinions and observe others, I started thinking about the lenses we all see through.  You know, that mixture of values, knowledge, worldview, and experience that gives us the perspective that we decipher life though.  The lens that helps us come up with how we feel about things and issues in the greater world around us.

That is when I thought of my glasses, and it made me wonder.  Can the lens we see through become a hindrance to us?

I would think that at times the answer could be yes.  If we allow the lens to be so colored by one thought, it may be hard to see any other view.

I think of the religious figures from Jesus day.  They had a very strong viewpoint.  They neither listened nor took the time to see through the lens that Jesus was presenting to them.  Even though “He was teaching them as one having authority…” Matthew 7:29

So I think our lens can be a hindrance.  Sometimes we may have to look through the lens of one another.  It does not have to be a whole hearted acceptance, of some other view.  All that might be needed is just the willingness to glance over and gain some understanding.

I again thought of my glasses.  There are times that they are so dark after being outside that they are a problem.  When it becomes unsafe because they are too dark, I take them off.  Now for me, that is still somewhat risky because I do not have the best eye sight.  What do I do in that instance?  I compensate by going slow and holding on to what I know is solid.  Then even if I stumble while looking through another lens (even the distorted lens of my own eyes) I know that I will not fall.