January 5: BEHIND THE EYES

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.” Matthew 6:22

Jesus, the light of the world, speaks from the Mount of Blessing. The eye is beyond amazing. To merely say that it is “complex” would be an understatement. Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). The spiritual implication here is that we are created with a spiritual sense that each of us is responsible for using wisely—for His glory. Just as our physical eyes receive light, our spiritual eyes have been provided that we might “see” the One who made everything.

“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (v.23)

Somewhere in the world is a sizable painting of a woman’s face, painted by a Christian artist*. Her gaze, intently fixed, draws viewers and has a captivating effect. Her beautiful expression has been described as “unforgettable”. Many return to stare at the painting in wonder as to its power to grasp the viewer’s attention. One such viewer actually met the artist who explained that the gaze of the woman in the painting is fixed upon Jesus. A close look at her pupils reveals a double reflection of the Savior as He is dying on the cross.

Now let us employ our sanctified imaginations to gaze into the eyes of the One who willingly laid down His life for us. What do you see there? In His eyes there is a purity and innocence borne of sinlessness and selfless love. Add to that compassion borne of tender regard for His creatures along with the affection of boundless love. Keep looking. Do you see yourself in His eyes as He looks upon you with longing? Keep looking to Him. His perfect character, never-ending mercy, and agape love never change, but we are changed by beholding Him. He wants to see His own reflection in each of us!

“Look to Me and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:22

And pray:

…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

*Arnold Jimenez