I am near-sighted. The professional term for this degenerative vision condition is myopia. I can see fairly well up close, but I can’t see well far away. It’s a strange label that identifies a strength and leaves the assumption that the opposite is where the problem is. To put our spiritual state is similar terms, you could say we are “upsighted.” Upsighted people can see God lifted up, but they can’t see him down or across or in or out. Instead of myopia, I would call this “utopia.” We only see God in the perfect.
Utopic Christians can’t see God in the flawed, in the disappointment, in the poor, or in the unfinished quality of their lives – even in the average. They see him in the winners, not the losers. They see him in victory, not defeat. They are utopic Christians, only capable of worship when everything is supposedly perfect and we are all looking up.
If you can only see God when you look up, then faith will never meet your daily life. You can’t walk around looking up all the time. You can’t do your work well, and you run the chance of running into somebody or something because you are not paying attention to where you are going. We need a vision correction that allows us to pay attention to God and what we are doing at the same time. People who are nearsighted need lenses to help them see far away. People who are upsighted need lenses to help them see down, and in doing so, to see God down here. He is everywhere, all the time. This is where real faith begins: seeing God down… around… in… out… through… beyond… before… after… between… and in the middle of… everything.
John Fischer The Catch 
U·to·pi·a [yoo-toh-pee-uh] Show IPA
noun
1.
an imaginary island described in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics, etc.
2.
( usually lowercase ) an ideal place or state.
3.
( usually lowercase ) any visionary system of political or social perfection.
my·o·pi·a (m-p-)
n.
1. A visual defect in which distant objects appear blurred because their images are focused in front of the retina rather than on it; nearsightedness. Also called short sight.
2. Lack of discernment or long-range perspective in thinking or planning: “For Lorca, New York is a symbol of spiritual myopia” (Edwin Honig).
[Greek mupi, from mups, mup-, nearsighted : mein, to close the eyes + ps, eye; see okw- in Indo-European roots.]
my·opic (-pk, -pk) adj.
my·opi·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Myopia
Definition
Myopia is the medical term for nearsightedness. People with myopia see objects more clearly when they are close to the eye, while distant objects appear blurred or fuzzy. Reading and close-up work may be clear, but distance vision is blurry.
Farsightedness, or hyperopia, is a common eye problem. Farsighted people have difficulty seeing objects that are nearby. In severe cases of hyperopia, distance objects may appear blurry as well.
Hyperopia
Definition
Hyperopia (farsightedness) is the condition of the eye where incoming rays of light reach the retina before they converge into a focused image.
I like your metaphor. Very intuitive. It’s a bit of the “so heavenly minded, no earthly good” axiom expressed in a new way. What makes it so concerning is that utopic vision seems so right, and so biblical. It’s part of our “eternal vision” that gives us hope that this life is not all there is.
However, I think the idea of “spiritual myopia” also works well here. I think it’s safe to say most American Christians are spiritually nearsighted. We see only what is near to us–our church, our friends, our Bible study, our family, our favorite places. The Evangelical enclave experience of the past 20-30 years has had it strengths, but it has also weakened the “eyes of our hearts” (Eph. 1:18). We don’t see the poor, the broken, the hurting, and the lost, not because we don’t care, but because we’ve lost our ability to focus. We’ve lost our vision. We need biblical corrective lenses to see the world that God sent us to reach.
I’m encouraged that a new generation of young Evangelicals is helping us to correct our vision. Our church (New Life Church in CO) just opened a Dream Center to provide free women’s medical care. Next will be a facility for single mothers. Whether our vision is utopic or myopic, we all need “radical care-ototomy” on the eyes of our hearts (sorry, couldn’t resist extending the metaphor).
Clay – love the continued metaphor – radical care-ototomy. made me LOL.
John – caught you, you little pan-theist.
“This is where real faith begins: seeing God … in… … everything.”
Just kidding – couldn’t resist temptation.
Thank you for this post. Utopian Christians . . .I relate to that. Wondering if God is “helping” me correct my vision with yet another “rejection letter” while looking for work. He is in the rejection letter as much as in an acceptance letter?