Seeing Shadows

Scripture:

Luke 11:34-36

Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.”

Observation:

The light of Christ is to shine into every crevice of our being. Jesus would suggest that the light enters our body through the eye. His illustration becomes quite clear because he knows that if you have healthy eyes, then you are able to receive light into your eyes. It’s when you have disease that your vision becomes clouded, filled with shadows and darkness. 

With this understanding in mind, we are asked to consider the type of light in which we are walking. Is it the light that is received by a healthy eye where everything is seen clearly? Or is the light in which we are walking the type produced by an unhealthy eye? 

When we walk in the bright light of sunshine with clear sight, every obstacle to our faith becomes visible and may be removed. The result is a life lived outside the shadows, one that is so filled with the reflected glory of Jesus that it is full of light. 

Application:

Last year my husband had a torn and detached retina. The symptoms began with floaters in his eye. He kept thinking something was in his eye, messing with his vision. Then came a moment when he said it was like a veil going over his eye and the vision was entirely gone, except for a sliver at the top of his eye. The shadow of darkness had fallen over him, because of his eye. 

Praise the Lord we live in a time when surgery can do much to repair the damage of a torn and detached retina. Now, the light can again shine into his eye, and he can see. 

It’s easy to allow the symptoms of a torn retina go undetected. It may happen very slowly - and the same is true for our spiritual lives. Sometimes things begin to happen that are clouding our vision, creating dark spots but we don’t realize that we are no longer seeing clearly. We need spiritual surgery, done at the hand of the Holy Spirit to clean up and clear up our vision. Only then can the light of Christ clearly shine into our lives. 

To be a clear reflection of Jesus, we need on-going check-ups to make sure that there is nothing blocking the way. Only then can the shadows be removed and the reflection be whole and complete. 

Prayer:

Lord, please keep my vision clear. Amen.