Chances are you know what a Snellen Chart is. You may not recognize it by name, but if you have ever had your eyes examined by an Optometrist, you have encountered a Snellen Chart. The Snellen chart is the chart that displays letters progressively smaller in size from top to bottom. According to Snellen, the test subject should see the same line of letters at 20 feet that a person with normal vision sees at 20 feet.
We have often heard it said that 20/20 vision is normal vision. Normal vision is good, but did you know that in comparison, you can pass a Driver’s License Test with 20/40 vision; You can read an alarm clock from 10 feet with 20/80 vision, and you are legally blind at 20/200 vision? A person with 20/20 vision can see letters 1/10th as large as someone with 20/200 vision.
According to the military, 20/20 vision is the minimum requirement for a fighter pilot. Our military does not consider a pilot with less than 20/20 vision, a person who is fit for battle. I provide this bit of information because we have reached the year 2020 and I believe that the times we are living in require church leaders who possess the ability to lead with a minimum spiritual vision of 20/20. We must have the ability to see clearly with spiritual eyes. We must see what God wants us to see because we are at war and our battle plans require clear vision. So I ask you, does your ministry have clear vision or does the future seem blurry and vague? Can your kind of church reach this kind of world? Can your kind of leadership transform this kind of community? The Apostle Paul said, "examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves" (2 Corinthians. 13:5). I know that I am supposed to be IN the kind of church that reaches our kind of world, but I have to examine myself, look a little deeper and see if, in fact, I AM still that church. The mirror of God's Word allows me the ability to see myself for who I am with all my imperfections.
My Optometrist will ask me to read the smallest line of letters that I can clearly see on the Snellen Chart. Dr. Day doesn’t let me up from the chair until she has prescribed the correct lenses for my eyes. She will not allow me to leave the office until she knows that I can see clearly. Why? For two reasons in particular. First, because I can be a danger to myself and others; and (2) if I cannot see clearly, I cannot find my way nor can I lead others to find theirs.
As we embark on the year 2020, make an appointment with God and get your vision checked out. Whatever you do, don’t leave His presence until you know that He has examined you thoroughly and prescribed a vision plan for your life and ministry.