Saturday, May 05, 2012

Eyes

“Eyes are the window to the soul.”  So goes the saying.  But when you study the Bible, you realize how true that saying is.  Today, we’re going to spend time considering what God’s word tells us about sight—our sight and God’s sight.

Your eyes let you see a lot of things—they allow you to enjoy color, they make it easy for you to read, they give you warning of approaching danger, and they enable you to pick up on emotions by studying facial expressions.  But there are lots of things that your eyes cannot see. Many wavelengths are invisible to the human eye—for example, you cannot see the rays coming from the sun that burn your skin.  Some things like molecules and germs are too small to see with the naked eye. Even though you can feel it brushing your skin, you cannot see the gentle breeze. 

Human sight is limited, but God’s sight is not.  Children play games of hide and seek.  Teens use darkness to keep what they’re doing secret from their parents.  Criminals use disguises to avoid getting caught.  But God’s eyes see us wherever we are, whatever we’re doing.  Solomon tells us, The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good (Proverbs 15:3).  Job says (chapter 34), His eyes are on the ways of men; He sees their every step. There is no dark place, no deep shadow, where evildoers can hide.   But this scary truth can also reassure us; the Bible says that the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him (1 Chronicles 16:9).

Human beings depend heavily on sight—more heavily than any other sense.  We get scared of the dark because it blinds us.  We have a hard time believing in things that are invisible.  With advanced computer graphics, we question whether a photograph of something unusual is real or faked.  To believe in something out of the ordinary, we want to see it up close and personal.  When the Queen of Sheba got reports of Solomon’s great wisdom, she went to visit him.  After spending time in the palace at Jerusalem, she admitted: I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes (1 Kings 10:7)

We want to see before we believe.  When Jesus rose from the dead, Thomas was unconvinced—he wanted to see the Lord with his own two eyes.  This desire for visual proof led Jesus to say, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29).  But Jesus knows that blind faith is hard for us.  That is why He performed miracles to prove His identity as God’s own Son.  That’s why He gives us Baptism and Communion, sacraments that let us see His grace visibly at work in our lives.

Sadly, your eyes can be deceived.  You’ve seen optical illusions—drawings and pictures designed to fool the eye.  Your eyes can also miss important details—you can become so tightly focused on something interesting that you fail to notice surrounding details.  On top of all that, your vision can be affected by drugs, exhaustion, and a tendency to see what you want or expect to see. 

Sin tricks our vision, distorts how we see things.  Sin blinds us spiritually so that we cannot see the difference between right and wrong.  When our eyes see something fascinating, we want it.  Proverbs chapter 27 says Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man.  But lusting after worldly things is ultimately pointless.  In Ecclesiastes chapter five we are told, As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?  The desire for earthly goods just creates a gap between the wealthy and the poor: If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.  The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields (Ecclesiastes 5:8-9).  Jesus warns us against love of material things; Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15).  For that reason, our Lord gave the following advice: If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell (Matthew 5:29).

Eyes also play an important role in communication.  Whether we want them to or not, our eyes reveal what’s going on inside of us.  Eyes can communicate anger, as we read in Job chapter 15: why do your eyes flash, so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?  Eyes can reveal envy; 1 Samuel 18:9 tells us that Saul kept a jealous eye on David.  Your eyes show when pride has taken control of your heart; Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! (2 Kings 19:12) Your eyes can sparkle with joy; Jonathan said See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey (1 Samuel 14:9). And eyes can be dulled with grief—David wrote, My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes (Psalm 38:10).  Eyes can be hard with judgment or soft with compassion. 

What do Jesus’ eyes reveal about Him?  They flashed in anger when merchants used the Temple to make a profit from God’s worshipers.  They narrowed with anger when the teachers of the Law twisted God’s words to make themselves look good.  But Jesus’ eyes were soft when people came to him begging for help.  His eyes were gentle when He forgave their sins and cured their diseases.  When Jesus was dying on the cross, He looked up to heaven—not to call down curses on His tormentors, but to ask His Father to forgive them.

Eyes are the window to the soul—they reveal our inner emotional state.  But eyes also let things in—images that can brighten the soul or turn it black.  Jesus said, The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  (Matthew 6:22-23)
We must be careful what we look at—go ahead and drink in what is good, but turn away from anything twisted and evil.  Jesus should be our primary focus; Paul says we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).  Scripture also says, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).  We look to God for our daily needs; Psalm 145 says the eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. We also look to God for security; Psalm 141 says my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge. But it is easy to get distracted; we need to pray the words of Psalm 119: turn my eyes away from worthless things.

Sin affects our eyes, making us cry.  We cry when other people hurt us.  We cry when we make costly mistakes.  But how often do we shed tears because God’s will is ignored?  The man who wrote Psalm 119 said, Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. If God’s law was obeyed by everyone, there would be no reason for tears.  But we are all sinners, and the pain we cause ourselves and each other grieves the Son of God.  Jesus wept on more than one occasion.  He wept over Jerusalem, which rejected His love.  He wept at a grave, sharing the grief that we all feel at a funeral.  His grief over sin and death led Jesus to the cross, where He suffered and died so that we might be forgiven and live eternally.  Looking to the future, John saw what Christ has accomplished for all believers: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4).

Tears can result in blessing.  When our grief over sin makes our eyes well up, Jesus is there to give us comfort.  Job said (chapter 16), My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.  Jesus keeps a close eye on all who follow Him: the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive (Psalm 33)

With God’s help, we can look at things in a whole new way.  God is at work all around us, but most people never see it.  Just one example: the prophet Elisha lived out in the country; on one occasion, a large detachment of hostile soldiers surrounded the house.  Elisha’s servant thought they were hopelessly outnumbered, but Elisha knew better. Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:17).  Without God’s help, we don’t notice the angels at work around us. 

Without God’s help, our perspective on things is faulty.  It is easy to be critical of others; this prompted Jesus to say: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5).  Our Lord exaggerates for effect, but how often do we minimize our own faults and exaggerate the faults of others?  We need God’s eyes to keep things in proper perspective.

When God’s Spirit opens our eyes, the world looks incredible.  There are so many things that fill us with awe, prompting us to say the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes (Psalm 118:17).  But most beautiful of all are these words of the Bible: The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes (Psalm 19:8)

Eyes appreciate beauty and are captured by compelling sights. But we need God to see true beauty.  Nothing would be grander than to see Him face to face.  Sadly, that is not possible—while we live on earth, contaminated with sin, we cannot see God.  But Jesus has atoned for our sins and opened heaven to us;  when He takes you to join Him forever, you’ll see beauty that you never imagined.

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