Earthly Vision

As a young boy, one of my favorite pastimes was hunting frogs along the banks of a pond near our home. While stalking those green leapers I was unaware of their unique visual powers which enabled them to elude me so easily. Later I learned that the frog's optical field of perception is like a blackboard wiped clean, and that the only images it receives are objects that directly concern him-such as his natural enemies or the food he needs for survival. Therefore these amphibious little creatures are never distracted by unimportant things, but are aware only of essentials and whatever may be dangerous to them.

Although such restricted eyesight would result in an unimaginable handicap to man, nevertheless a spiritual lesson can be learned from the frog's "blackboard." In the Christian life we frequently become preoccupied with the vain things of the world. We allow our lives to become so cluttered with materialistic and insignificant concerns that we lose perspective of the "things that endure." In our text the psalmist asks God for help in fixing his attention on what is good and lasting. Psalm 119:37