I have worn glasses since I was 11 years old. A few years ago, my eye doctor told me I was developing cataracts. He said we would keep an eye on them and remove them when they were bad enough. I didn’t know what bad enough meant. All I knew was it had become very difficult for me to drive at night. The headlights of the cars coming at me were just huge starbursts of light. My depth perception was off, so it seemed to me that they were in my lane, and this caused me to hug the curb. I also fell a few times, mainly because I didn’t see the last step.
Then in December 2025, I went for my annual eye appointment only to find that my regular eye doctor had retired and the eye group assigned me to a new doctor. The day I went in, he did what eye doctors do and told me again that I had cataracts that could be removed in a year or two. The same thing I’d been told every year for a long time. But then he said, “However, if you would like to have them removed now, I would be glad to recommend you to one of our eye surgeons.” No one had ever given me that option before; I had always been told to wait. So, I had the cataracts removed, first one eye and then the other, and new clear lenses inserted in their place.
Since I was far-sighted, I chose the standard lenses—artificial, intraocular lenses. The procedure, phacoemulsification, took about 15 minutes to perform. The surgeon made two tiny incisions in my eye and blasted the cataract with an ultrasonic probe. This allowed him to gently break up and remove the cloudy lenses (the cataracts) and insert the clear lenses. The lenses were positioned so that I would see 20/20 in the area of my eye (my middle vision) that I use most for working on the computer and playing the piano, although I would still have to wear glasses to see clearly near and far away.
Having pristine 20/20 vision made me think about how Jesus changes us and makes us all new. The Bible tells us to look “unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2, first part
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if the eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” Matthew 6:22, 23
“Keep the conscience tender, that you may hear the faintest whisper of the voice that spoke as never man spoke. Let all who would wear the yoke of Christ show an inflexible purpose to do right because it is right. Keep the eye fixed on Jesus, inquiring at every step, Is this the way of the Lord? …
“Do not imitate men. Study your Bibles, and imitate Christ.” Our High Calling, 341
“We will move steadfastly on, looking to Jesus, learning of Jesus, obtaining the love of Jesus, our hearts melted in tenderness toward each other.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 285
“But looking to Jesus you will find encouragement. May you have the blessing of the Lord every day. My dear sister, may the Lord bless and sustain you.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 265
“Our only safety is in continually looking to Jesus. By living faith, we must appropriate the precious promises; for every promise and command, necessary for our salvation, must become a part of us, that we may become one with Christ.” The Review and Herald, September 3, 1889
“There will be no taste for trifling conversation in those who are looking to Jesus for strength, depending upon His righteousness for salvation. By faith they accept Jesus as their personal Saviour, and become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Medical Ministry, 145
“Let us study the life and death of Christ. Let us do all in our power to work out the plan of God. What tongue can tell, what pen unfold the mighty results of looking to Jesus and living His life?” The Upward Look, 200
“Trust in God. Be careful not to give the enemy any advantage by your unguarded words. Keep looking to Jesus. He is your strength.” That I May Know Him, 185
“The greatness, the breadth, of the plan of salvation invests it with incomparable grandeur, but it can only be spiritually discerned, and it increases in greatness as we contemplate it. Looking to Jesus dying upon the cross, and knowing that it was our sin that placed the innocent Sufferer there, we are bowed down before Him in wonder and love.
“All who come to Christ for a clearer knowledge of the truth will receive it. He will unfold to them the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and these mysteries will be understood by the heart that longs to know the truth. A heavenly light will shine into the soul temple and will be revealed to others as the bright shining of a lamp on a dark path.” Ibid., 205
“Keep looking to Jesus. He is your strength. By steadfastly beholding him, you will be changed into the same likeness.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 12, 1901
“No one need despond who commits his soul to Jesus. We have an all-powerful Saviour. Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, you can say, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’ ” The Upward Look, 321
“The knowledge of Christ reveals the depths of sin and its offensive character, while by faith we see the cleansing stream, the blood of Christ which washes away every spot, every stain of sin. This salvation is not half appreciated. Salvation brought to us through the blood of Jesus is not estimated of priceless value. By faith this gift must be fully accepted as the great gift of God through Jesus Christ. The burden of our sins and of our sorrows was laid upon One who is merciful to pardon, mighty to save.
“Why cannot we trust that love which has been expressed to us in such infinite sacrifice that we might live?
“Look in faith to the cross. Look and live. This will be our study and song throughout eternity.” This Day With God, 176
“If you are conscious of your sins, do not devote all your powers to mourning over them, but look and live. Jesus is our only Saviour; and although millions who need to be healed will reject His offered mercy, not one who trusts in His merits will be left to perish. While we realize our helpless condition without Christ, we must not be discouraged; we must rely upon a crucified and risen Saviour. Poor, sin-sick, discouraged soul, look and live. Jesus has pledged His word; He will save all who come unto Him.” Counsels for the Church, 48
“Man is poisoned by sin; but a remedy has been provided for the fallen race in the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Every hope that we have of salvation out of Christ is a vain hope. We cannot dishonor our Saviour more than by doubting that He will save us. Whatever may have been our life of transgression, however deep may be the stain of our sin, there is One who is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. Jesus is the remedy for sin. We may have intellect, but human intelligence can devise no way of salvation; we may have earthly possessions, but that will not provide a ransom for the sin of our soul. Salvation is the gift of God through Christ, and the promise is, ‘Whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’
“It is not enough to have a nominal faith. We must have faith that will appropriate the life-giving power to our souls. We suffer great loss because we do not exercise simple, living faith in Christ. We should be able to say, ‘He is my Saviour; He died for me; I look to Him as my complete Saviour and live.’ We are to look to Christ day by day. We are to regard Him as our example in all things. This is faith. The true believer in Christ is represented by a branch connected with a living vine. The sap and nourishment of the vine extends through every vein and fiber of the branch, and thus the branch becomes knit with the life of the vine, and bears precious fruit. Every soul that abides in Christ will do the works of Christ. Those who love God will keep His commandments; for Christ has said, ‘I have kept My Father’s commandments.’ Jesus made an infinite sacrifice in leaving His majesty, to come to a fallen world, that He might lift up sinful man; and everyone that is connected with Christ, as the branch is united with the vine, will manifest the spirit of his Redeemer.
“We honor our Lord and Master when we place implicit confidence in Him. If we distrust the message that He has sent us, we shall be in a position similar to that of the Israelites who were bitten by the fiery serpents, but who would not look and live. If we accept the message of love that has come to us in invitations, exhortation, and reproof, it will prove life and healing to our souls.
“We should not be satisfied with anything less than a close connection with Christ. Freedom and salvation are offered to us, and we should grasp the precious promises of God by living faith.” The Signs of the Times, March 10, 1890
“Look to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:22
“You cannot make yourself any better; Jesus can do all this. When the Israelites were bitten by the fiery poisonous serpents whose sting was certain death, the brazen serpent was lifted up on a pole, and Jesus, enshrouded in the cloudy pillar, bade Moses tell them, ‘Look and live.’ The same Jesus has bidden me tell you, Look and live. Do not climb the pole, but only look. I present Christ to you. Look and live. There is hope, comfort, and peace for you. There is even joy in the Holy Ghost for you. Now I bid you in the name of Jesus, Look and live. …
“Satan would have your soul; shall he have it? Say, No, never; it is Christ’s property. Satan says, ‘Curse God and die.’ Will you do it? He curses God for you, that you may repeat his wicked blasphemy. Will you do it? No, for Jesus has died; He has purchased your life. Your soul is His property, and He will take you by the hand; He will draw you away from perdition; He will make you, as John, His beloved disciple, to win the crown of eternal life. He bids you, through me, His humble servant, ‘Look and live.’ ” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 13, 150, 151
“Let the eye be fixed on the Son of Righteousness. … see His tenderness, His pity, His large, broad love, and His great compassion.” Daughters of God, 147
“Our only hope is to look and live.” The Review and Herald, February 26, 1889