What do your eyes reveal?

Scripture:

Matt. 6:22 ¶ “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light;
Matt. 6:23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Observation:

This is another parable from Jesus.  He understands the need for humanity to be in right relationship with God.  When humans have turned from their sin and are seeking the face of God, they are facing in his direction.  Theirs eyes are seeking God and the radiance of God's glory shines into their very eyes. 

The way that humans see is through light entering the eye and being absorbed by the retina which is found on the back of the eye.  Your optic nerve then takes all of that light and converts it to data which is sent to your brain.  Your brain then understands what it is seeing.

In the Greek this Scripture actually says that the eye is "single."  This word can be translated several different ways, including the word healthy.  It also has a marriage connotation with it, in that the single focus of the relationship is on the beloved.  Yes, it is a healthy and clear eye that is only seeking the face of the one in whom we have fallen in love; and this love radiates through the entire being of the individual, lighting up every nook and cranny with the very presence of God.

At the same time humanity has the option to turn their back on God.  This is our free will, the ability to turn and go the other direction.  Again, the eye will only absorb that which is in its environs.  This "unhealthy" eye is the one which is turned toward the darkness.  The result is that the messages sent to the optic nerve are all dark, they are evil and there is no light in this individual.  There is not even a flicker of the presence of God and therefore the person finds themselves in a vortex of evil and darkness, pulling them down to ever deeper and darker levels of lostness.

Application:

Why is it that we think it's safe to "play" with the things of this world, allowing our eyes to wander off and explore the world around us?  The glory and the presence of God, along with the accompanying light, is what we so desperately need these days.  This light from the Lord gives us a vision to see the world in the same way that he sees the world.  This light reveals the darkness to us, not just for our benefit but so that we can lead those who are in darkness, into the light.  The light which we have been given ought to give us a passion to lead those who are lost out of darkness. 

This week we have experienced the terrible bombings in Boston at the close of the Marathon.  The videos show us the selfless way in which the rescuers ran to the scene and began treating people who had terrible injuries.  They ran to the chaos to bring help and assistance.  Why?  Because they had an immediate vision of the need and knew that they must help.

When we focus our eyes on Jesus Christ his light so fills us that we will be drawn to the injured and wounded lying in the darkness surrounding us.  We will run to their side and try to bring them to safety and into the light.  This is what happens when the vision of Christ is brought to light in our eyes as we focus on him. 

What are we focused on in life?  If someone were to look down deep into our eyes, what would they discover?  Are our eyes focused on the one we love -- are they soaking in the light of his  radiance?  Or have we become distracted by the things of the world and just might we be caught glancing off in another direction?  Our eyes are absorbing the light or the dark surrounding us.  May our eyes reveal the reflection of the one whom we are facing every single day.

Prayer:

Lord, may my focus be singular.  Amen.