9th May 2006

Eyes by John Fischer

I'm thinking about eyes today. Not physical eyes, necessarily, as much as the concept of seeing. I'm thinking about the kind of eyes a blind person has. Eyes are all about seeing and being seen, and a person whose eyes don't work can still see and be seen � sometimes better than those with good eyes. Eyes are so much more than the function they perform.

Eyes are like the tide; they go out, and they come in. Eyes can focus on a pinpoint and open to the world. Or they can close to both.

The Psalmist says the eyes of God are everywhere, looking for those who do his will (Psalm 34:15). In this way, eyes can be selective. You can train your eyes to find certain things. One of the best ways to worship God, for instance, is to train your eyes to find him. Just as the best way to have friends is to train your eyes to find the good in people. Eyes are capable of seeing selectively. Two people can look at the same thing and see something entirely different. It depends on what you are looking for.

�He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it.� (Proverbs 11:27) What you see, in other words, is largely under your control. �Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.� (Matthew 5:8) They see God because they know what he looks like. When your heart is pure, you see purely.

Eyes look out, but they also open in. Eyes are the windows to the soul. This is the �being seen� part, and it's a little more scary, because you cannot always control what someone else sees in you. It is what makes us vulnerable. How do I know that someone will like what he or she sees? I don't. This is why we close ourselves off to relationships because we don't want to be seen. We don't want to run the risk. Lying eyes ... shifty eyes ... angry eyes ... wandering eyes � are all ways of keeping the window closed.

Because of what he has demonstrated throughout history, and especially by sending his Son for us, God can be trusted to look into your soul. He has seen it all, so nothing can shock him. All the sins of the whole world were laid on Jesus on the cross, so yours are no big deal. But no one knows that until they open the window and find out through personal experience what it truly means to be loved by God. And once you've opened your eyes to God, and found love and acceptance from him, you can pretty much leave the window open for everyone else.

Open my eyes, Lord, and let me see Jesus.
Open my eyes, Lord, and let me be seen.