Duane's Syndrome

I have Duane’s Syndrome.  My doctor discovered it during my annual physical last December and had me consult with a specialist to confirm the diagnosis.  Duane’s Syndrome is an eye disorder that prevents my left eye from moving the whole way over when I look to the left.

But here’s the funny thing: I’ve had Duane’s Syndrome my entire life and never realized it.  No one in my family and none of my friends noticed it.  For 52 years I’ve had something wrong with me and had no clue.  It hasn’t affected how I live my life, except for having to squint a little when doing things like checking my blind spot while driving.  If my physician hadn’t noticed it, I could have gone through my entire life blissfully unaware of this defect.

The Bible tells us that God’s law is like my physician.  We are incredibly gifted at turning a blind eye to our faults.  I wouldn’t know about my Duane’s Syndrome without the doctor, and as Paul wrote, “I would not have known what sin is except through the law” (Romans 7:7).  When we read about God’s desire for our lives in the Bible, we discover the ways in which we have strayed from it.  We recognize our sin, and we come to understand how it damages our lives and ruins our relationship with God. 

God does not reveal our sin to make us feel bad about ourselves.  He wants us to see what is wrong in our lives and in our world so we can do something about it.  But when we try, we discover that we can no more fix our sin than I can make my eye move the way it’s supposed to.  God’s desire is for awareness of our sinfulness to motivate us to seek the grace and wholeness that Jesus Christ offers us through his redeeming death and victorious resurrection.  Through him, we find not only healing and forgiveness for our sin, but we receive the power of God’s Spirit who works in and around us to reshape our lives and our world more into a fuller and richer existence.  My physician couldn’t cure me of Duane’s Syndrome, but the loving work of God in our lives can heal our sin.

It doesn’t happen overnight.  The life of a Christian is an ongoing adventure of growing closer to God and his will, and of finding joy and peace in it all.  There are advances and retreats, growth and dormancy.  But over time, we can see how the power of sin is losing its grip on our lives and how the Spirit of God is filling our spirits.

The adventure is never complete, at least on this side of glory.  The closer you draw to God, the more aware you become of how far away from him you still are. Each injustice that is righted and each temptation that is overcome makes us notice even more the temptations and injustices that remain.  And God lovingly, patiently works with us and in us to bring us closer and closer to the goal of holiness and purity.