If anything is proof that there is a Creator whose works are wondrous to behold, it is when we study the “function” of the human eye. Evolution could not have created such a complex structure by mere accident. The eye contains over two million parts, all working together to allow us to gaze on the majesty of God’s creation, its thousands of different colours, its depths and heights. We can see the joy in the faces of parents who stare in awe at their newborn baby, we watch the changing of the seasons, the glorious sunsets, we marvel at the sight of a sinner who returns from the depths of the water in baptism and see God’s glory shining on his face.  This is truly a loving Creator whose wisdom not only gave us our eyes so that we can not only gaze on the beauty around us, but gave us the eye of faith in order for us to see beyond mere human vision to look to the glories that await those who are faithful.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.  Our earthly vision is unable to comprehend what awaits us, and how glorious it will be when we gaze on the New Jerusalem, as we walk through the pearly gates, and fully understand the love of God who gave His Son to die for us so that we, who have turned our eyes from the world to His marvellous light, could live in eternity with Him. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Sin entered into this world when Eve wandered away from her husband and “gazed” at the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  “Unmindful of the angels’ caution, she soon found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the forbidden tree. The fruit was very beautiful, and she questioned with herself why God had withheld it from them.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 56. Once she looked to the fruit, her mind began to question the wisdom of God, and this is when Satan was able to tempt her to sin, and Adam with her.

When we turn from God and behold the evils that are in the world all around us, we begin to change into the image of the one who was the instigator of sin; we lose our eye of faith and no longer do the glories of God seem so marvellous. Sin will blind our eyes so that the things of God are hid from us. When we choose to follow darkness, it envelops us so powerfully that we can be forever lost, away from the reach of our Saviour’s love. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16

When we are in despair, when our soul yearns for something better than this sinful world can offer, we are told to come to the foot of the cross and look to the final moments of Christ’s life. “The Spirit reveals the ingratitude of the heart that has slighted and grieved the Saviour, and brings us in contrition to the foot of the cross. By every sin Jesus is wounded afresh; and as we look upon Him whom we have pierced, we mourn for the sins that have brought anguish upon Him. Such mourning will lead to the renunciation of sin. –The Desire of Ages, p. 300

“When at the foot of the cross the sinner looks up to the One who died to save him, he may rejoice with fullness of joy; for his sins are pardoned. Kneeling in faith at the cross, he has reached the highest place to which man can attain.” –The Faith I Live By, p. 103

We need to have an eye that is single to the glories of God, and then only can we begin to develop the character of Christ that will fit us for our heavenly home. The eye of faith holds fast to the promise that if we seek the things of His kingdom, He will provide us with the power to overcome all sin and cover us with His righteousness. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

HOW DO WE SEE?

In order for us to be able to see, we need our eyes and our brain to work together.

The eye is unique in that its six muscles allow us to see in many different directions, yet is protected from injury by sitting in a bony cavity. It is also embedded in fat to provide cushioning. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, which is why we all admire babies who have “big”, beautiful eyes. Babies have adult-sized eyes in a baby-sized face.

Our eyebrows and eyelashes protect the eyes from dust, particles and sweat. The layer inside the eyelids, the conjunctiva, keeps the eye moist, and also moves particles away from the eye.

The easiest way to understand the eye and how it works, is to view it as a camera. We all have used a camera or seen one at work. Let us compare the main parts of the eye, and their function in comparison to a camera:

SCLERA:

The sclera is like the outer shell of a camera, it maintains the shape of the eye. Inside the eye we have two areas of fluid which also help to maintain the shape of the eye called the aqueous and vitreous humours. These fluid-filled areas provide the eye with nutrients, and carries anti-oxidants to the eye to protect it from free radical damage.

CORNEA:

The cornea is the innermost layer of the sclera, and is transparent. It is the only part of the body that doesn’t contain blood vessels as this would affect the clarity of our vision. It functions as the lens of a camera that lets all light pass through to the rest of the eye. The cornea get its nutrients from tears and oxygen from the air. If the cornea is damaged because of injury, the image that the eye sees suffers much like the vision from a scratched camera.

PUPIL:

The black circle in the middle of our eye is the pupil; it is actually a small hole that opens into the back of the eye. The size of the pupil determines how much light enters the eye.

IRIS:

The iris, which is the coloured part of our eye is actually a muscle that works to adjust the size of the pupil. It expands and contracts, and like the f-stop of a camera, determines how much light to let in. The colour of our iris is hereditary. Most cameras have automatic f-stops, which will open the lens for a shorter period of time to let less light in, and keep it open for longer to allow more light to come in, to adjust the brightness of the picture.

LENS:

When we focus the camera on the object that we want to take a picture of and we either manually turn the camera lens in or out or have the camera do it automatically, we are fine-tuning the camera to make the image as sharp as possible. This is the function of the lens in our own eye. It is very flexible and with the help of the muscles it is attached to, can change its shape to either become flatter or rounder to fine-tune the image we see with the eye, depending on the distance the object is from our eye. This process is called accommodation.

RETINA:

Then, the memory card, or the film (for those of us old enough to remember how film cameras worked) is like the retina of our eye, which actually holds the memory of the picture. The retina is a thin sheet of brain tissue in the eye. It is the place where the brain first encounters light. From the retina, the light signal moves along the optic nerve to the vision centres of the brain.

CONES:

Contained in the retina are structures that allow us to see colour and fine detail. Many of these cones are situated in the macula region of the retina, which allows us to see fine details. These structures are known as cones. Our eye contain 7 million cones. We all have three types of cones, each having the ability to see different colours, either red, blue or green. The combination of these three colour cones allow us to see all the colours in our environment; all colour is a combination of these three colours. People who are colour blind have difficulty seeing specific colours. The reason for this is that they have less cones of a certain type. Men are more prone to be colour blind than women.

We often wonder if animals are colour blind. Animals do not only see in black and white. We can look at the amount and types of cones in their eyes, and determine which colours they can see. For example, cats, dogs and horses only have blue and green cones, therefore they cannot see the colour red. Some birds have better colour vision than humans, and can also detect ultraviolet light.

RODS:

Another group of structures contained in the retina are called rods. We have approximately 125 million rods in our eyes. Rods are very sensitive to light. They allow us to see in the dark, in situations of low light. They are almost entirely responsible for our night vision.

THE BRAIN AS THE INTERPRETER

But, is this enough? Is our eyesight as simple as that? No. If it only worked with the limited function of a camera, which is to capture and store an image that we see through the opening in our eye, we would be lacking in many of the characteristics that make eyesight so much more than just a capture and storage of an image. A camera has no mind to be able to interpret what it is taking a picture of. In order for us to actually interpret what we are seeing, to know that the key we are looking at is actually a key, we need our brain to perform this interpretative function. In fact, people who are brain damaged can either be partially or completely blind, despite the perfect functioning of the actual “camera” or eye part of the vision. If we are unable to “know” what we are looking at, we cannot truly see.

The eyes are connected via nerve cells that start in the retina and travel to an area of the brain known as the occipital lobe. When an object encounters the retina, the body turns the image into chemical impulses. These impulses travel along the brain cells to the vision centers of the brain. Only when this occurs can we actually “know” what we are seeing. Only then can we interpret our environment to be able to recognize the person standing in front of us, to know the difference between a grapefruit and an orange, and to know that the door we are facing is actually a way to enter into a house.

BINOCULAR VISION

A camera comprises a single set of parts that allow it do what is does, however, we have two eyes, each with a full set of parts. This provides a function that a camera will never be able to do.  A camera is only capable of producing images in two dimensions (until very recently, however the image can still only be viewed on a two-dimensional screen or paper). We have binocular vision with two eyes, which allow us to see images from a slightly different angle with each eye, which creates a 3-dimensional image in our minds. We are able to have a wider screen of vision. Eyes work as a back-up to each other, if we lose one. For safety reasons we see in binocular vision so that we can tell how far something is from us; this helps us with catching, grasping, balancing and moving.

Even the best cameras nowadays have the ability to take a photo with the sharpness of only 20 megapixels (refers to the resolution or degree of detail in an image taken by the camera). In comparison, our eyes see 576 megapixels. That is why our vacation photos never look as good as it did when we were actually there, viewing the scenery with our own eyes.

POOR VISION

To have perfect vision, the shape of the eye should allow images to focus directly on the retina. Sometimes, the shape of the eye can be too long or too short and the focus is either behind or in front of the retina. The shape of the cornea or lens can also be asymmetrical. The majority of these problems occur at birth, and worsen with age. The shape of the eye affects your ability to focus on an object.

Three main vision problems due to a less-than perfect shaped eye are myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. In myopia, which is also known as near-sightedness, the eyeball is too long and images are focused in front of the retina; this person has clear vision close up but distance vision is blurry. People with hyperopia, or farsightedness is a condition where the eyeball is too short and the image is focused behind the retina; they have clear distance vision but close up vision is blurry. Astigmatism is caused by an irregular curvature in either the cornea or lens, causing the focus to fall on multiple points in the eye, causing blurred images at varying distances. The treatment for all these vision problems are either glasses or laser surgery. Many companies on the Internet promote eye exercises to help vision, but all these exercises will not change the shape of the eye, and these companies have been sued successfully.

END OF PART 1

In the June 2014 issue: THE EYE, PART 2: EYE HEALTH THROUGHOUT OUR LIFETIME