Macular Degeneration and Clear Vision

My father-in-law suffers from macular degeneration, a condition where the center portion of the retina (the light receptor at the rear of the eyeball) deteriorates.  The result is a fuzzy spot at the center of what the person is looking at; so to see someone's face, you have to look to one side and then use peripheral vision instead. It sounds difficult, and it is.  The condition often spreads from one eye to the other, and although the progression can be slowed or even halted, the damage cannot be reversed.

In the spiritual context, loss of vision is even more serious; but the good news is it can be completely cured.  Paul refers to this as a "veil" in 2 Cor. 3, mixing the metaphor of the veil with the discussion of glory. Paul tells of Moses, who received the Old Covenant law from God, and saw God's glory, with the result that his face became radiant, shining with a reflection of God's own glory (see Exodus 34 for the whole story). Surely, we would think, this was a great experience; surely this law is honorable and great.  Yes, it was, says Paul, but that covenant's glory is totally overwhelmed by the glory of what he offers us in Christ (2 Cor. 3:9-10):  "If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way."

The Old Covenant brought death as the penalty of breaking its laws, but the New Covenant in Christ brings life (verses 6-8) so the greater glory is in the new.  The old way of the written law has been replaced (verse 11) with a much more glorious new way in Christ!  And though Moses had to cover his face, shining with the reflection of God's radiance, Paul says that we can be very bold (verse 12) in letting the reflection of God's glory shine from us, and that we should be growing in reflecting his glorious image (verse 18). 

Paul goes on to use the veil metaphor in a different way:  to refer to those who continued to read the law of Moses instead of facing Christ, in verse 15:  "Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand."  He insists that "this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ...whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (verses 14 and 16). This last statement is a shout of triumph, of the victory of the gospel of Christ over the Old Covenant that could not bring life, and of the glory of Christ himself who is revealed to anyone who turns to him in faith, trusting him alone for salvation.

Moses and the prophets saw God's grace only vaguely.  Our spiritual vision comes into sharp focus as we turn to Christ, and see in him everything the Father has for us, fulfilled and offered freely.  In Christ, we see all the metaphors of the Old Covenant teaching fulfilled, expanded and given deeper and more glorious meaning. We focus on Christ because in him we have life; and in him we see the perfect representative of the Father (John 14:9, Hebrews 1:1-3, etc).

There is no medical cure to reverse macular degeneration in the human eye.  But the glorious news is, perfect spiritual vision is available to us!  A revelation of God's grace, given by God's grace, cures the blindness, as Paul says in verse 18:  "all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord."  So let us continue to focus on Jesus Christ, and let the glory of God be reflected in us!