In our bodies, there exist many relics which are often taken for granted. We seldom pause to consider the sheer amazement of our complex beings. Do we even realize the extent of this complexity? No. Do we care? Maybe. Should we care? Absolutely. God created man in His image. That’s something too powerful to go unheeded. Of coarse, proper education in the functions of our bodies would require years of research and learning. However, by studying in sections, we may begin to truly appreciate what we daily consider as ongoing. At this time, I would like to present you all with a look at two things we use every second, of every minute, of every hour, day, week, month, and year. What are these two items? They’re our eyes.

Before we dive into the deeper explanations of how our eyes work, we must first define some terms. In doing so, we’ll discover the names and uses of the various parts of a human eye. First, there is the cornea; the transparent, anterior, dome-shaped portion of the eyeball that covers the iris and pupil. Light enters the eye by passing through this protective layer. Secondly, the fibrous, white tissue of the sclera covers the exterior of our eyeballs. Without this covering, the interior of our eyeball would continuously be exposed to damaging elements. Thirdly, come the superior and inferior rectus muscles. Located above and below the eye, they control ocular movement. When you look up, down, or all around, these extraocular muscles come into play. Now that we’ve partly covered our eyes’ exterior, let us “glance” at the interior.

Inside our eyes is where all the action occurs. How? First, the aqueous humor, composed of a watery liquid containing salts, proteins, and lysozyme, produces and maintains a proper eye-pressure. It also aids in keeping the cornea clean and moist. Next, comes the pupil and iris; these two parts mutually allow light to enter the lens. Being formed of connective tissues and smooth muscle fibers, the iris separates the anterior and posterior eye chambers. Also, the pupil is more of an opening than an existing component; it’s an area for light to pass through. Furthermore, located immediately behind the iris, the lens, or crystalline lens, serves as a major component of sight. Primarily focusing light rays which enter the eye, the lens expands or contracts in order to clarify an incoming ray.

The vitreous humor, occupying the posterior eye compartment, is comprised chiefly of water, but also salts, sugars, and various acids. Prior to hitting the retina, light transmitted through the cornea, pupil, and lens passes through the vitreous humor. Serving as the core element for sight, the retina sits at the rear of the eyeball. These ten layers of the innermost portion of the eye appear similar to the inner workings of an advanced camera.

Nourishing the inner layers of the retina, retinal vessels float about the vitreous. Moreover, the macula, a central, yellowish point in the posterior chamber, allows for the clearest, most distinct vision. Behind the retina, wrapping around the interior of the eyeball, is the choroid. The choroid provides the outer layer of the retina with a continual supply of oxygen and nutrients. Last of the ocular parts to be defined, the optic nerve carries all nerve impulses to and from the brain. Provided we have simply defined many of our eyeball’s anatomic parts, we can now examine the more intricate miracle of vision.

Vision occurs despite our recollection of it doing so. Our ocular system involuntarily focuses on an object for the clarity of sight. In reality, nothing in the world contains true color. Color merely results from our eyes’ perception of reflected light rays. Therefore, our eyes don’t directly focus images, they focus light rays. That said, how we perceive images comes from an interpretation by our brain’s optical workings.

Like a camera, the human eye has many components for focusing incoming rays. These rays are first refracted by the cornea. From there, they travel through the lens before they focus on the retina as an inverted image. When we look directly at an object, the reflected rays focus on the macula. As stated earlier, due to the highest concentration of nearly 127 million rod and cone cells, the macula possesses the greatest focusing ability of the human eye.

These focusing processes mean nothing if they can’t be interpreted into comprehendible entities. Packed with photoreceptors called rods and cones, the retina sends nerve impulses to the brain, which are carried by nerve cells. Remember, focused images on the retina are inverted. However, as the nerve cells travel through the optic nerve, across the optic chiasma, and along the optic tract, they reach the visual area of the cerebral hemispheres as right-side-up images. Keep in mind, all of this transpires in less than a second. Just from this slight explanation, we can barely begin to appreciate the wondrous complexity with which God created our eyes.

Despite this complexity, our eyes often develop numerous flaws; most of all, people experience errors of refraction known as near and farsightedness. In the instance of nearsightedness, the eye focuses a far-away image in front of the retina. This results from the lens being unable to properly refract light rays. Furthermore, the physical eyeball may have an oblong shape, or the lens itself may possess too much focusing power. Simply corrected with a concave lens, the eye becomes equipped to properly refract the diverged images.

Moreover, being opposite of near vision, farsightedness stems from a slightly shorter eye, or from a lens with too little focusing ability. Only able to suitably focus distant objects, nearby items have a focal point behind the retina. Obviously, this does not allow for proper sight, yet a convex lens helps correct said error. It properly adjusts oncoming rays to allow the weak eye to aptly focus a close-by image. Though near and farsightedness comprise just two ocular maladies, they seem most common in society.

Seeing as how we’ve discussed the anatomy of the eye and certain processes which allow the eye to focus and see, we come to the final aspect of our study: What is sight? We know what must occur in order for us to see, yet, in the end, we haven’t really explained sight itself. You may already realize that our coverage of its intricate nature will be unable to transpire. Even so, some beauties and fine points of vision may easily be revealed.

Peculiar and bizarre, optical illusions exist as one well known area of “sight science.” Through years of research, scientists have studied the vast mystery of sight perception and deception. There commonly remains a field of disagreements regarding the factual truth, but some give their opinion as follows. Certain individuals believe that your eyes and brain can be “tricked” with what they see. They do have grounds to make this statement, for, as a result of research, scientists’ findings prove the confusing conclusions a host of images give our visionary systems. These errors in perception may cause us to misjudge the size of a circle or the length of a line.

Fascinating to think upon, another arena of sight deception is the power of words over appearance. Many know the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” In this instance, that’s not quite so. If given a page full of color words, whose colors varied from those stated, the mind would become curiously boggled. When trying to say the color of each word, the words themselves would deliver a very strong influence on one’s discernment.

One last example: the Phantom Dots illusion. On a black-squared grid, intertwined with white lines, the appearance of gray spots proves befuddling. You may perceive to see spots where the white lines intersect, yet, when you look directly at one, it instantly disappears. Of course, the spots really aren’t there, but it’s the appearance which fools the mind. When a darkened area is surrounded by light, your eyes compensate by “toning down” the contrast, causing you to see darkened blobs. This phenomenon works best in your peripheral vision, not direct sight. Now that we’ve absorbed physical sight, let us gather our thoughts to enter a deeper realm.

Spiritual vision serves as the greatest element of our lives. Without clear, spiritual sight, we are blind. Be it to truths or evils, being blind to each is as challenging a disease as physical blindness. Ours eyes and sight are numerously mentioned in God’s word. In Matthew 13:16, Jesus said, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” This represents one of many times when Christ stressed the importance of our eyes, and how we use them. Solomon wrote, in Proverbs 4:25, “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.” By the use of the Hebrew, the eye received reference in a literal sense. We know from our inspection of eyeball anatomy, in concern to the macula, the clearest vision only comes from looking directly upon something. This is why it’s so important to remain unswervingly focused on God’s path, never wavering to the right or left.

Also, now being enlightened to the extensive factors involved in the manner of seeing, how amazing it becomes to truly realize what Jesus did when he healed the blind. In Matthew 20, after leaving Jericho, two blind men called out to Jesus, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.” Jesus replied, “What will ye that I shall do unto you?” Their answer, in Matthew 20:33-34, was as follows, “They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.”

Upon looking up the Greek, this literally meant the restoration of sight. All the countless happenings required for the visionary processes were instantaneously restored to full capacity. Jesus healed many blind people, and each time, all the millions of rod and cone cells, the extraocular muscles, retinal vessels, optic nerves, and nerve impulses, etc., unfailingly began to function properly. Throughout scripture, one could continually uncover times when references are made to the eye and vision. This gives ample reason for us to keep our eye-gates focused, truly focused, on the things of the Lord, and not of this world.

In conclusion to our tribute to our eyes, I’d like to leave us with a matter of ongoing thought. No matter how hard man tries, they can’t come close to duplicating the power of the human eye. Technology has come a very long way. Cameras and such continually increase in speed and clarity. Yet, despite the ever progressing world of technology, no shutter speed, no lens, no megapixel, humbles the performance of our eyes. Once again, the amazement and majesty of God’s creation stands above all else.

Hopefully, this expeditious study will help, and most of all, cause us to better understand and appreciate our eyes. Yes, some of us need assistance in order to see, but that doesn’t take away from what’s conjunctively happening. Above all, may we no longer take our eyes for granted, but rather consider how to better use them for the service of God. For He would never have created such a marvelous entity, if it weren’t meant to be used for His glory, and the advancement of His elect.