BRIGHT EYES
The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
(Matthew 6: 22)
When we talk about happy and joyful people, we often speak of them having “bright eyes”. Something about our internal state of being shows in our faces, and in particular, in our eyes.
The eye is the organ we use to see what is around us. So it seems a bit odd for Jesus to compare the eye to a lamp. The eye does not, in fact, give out light the way a lamp does. It is “just” the means by which we see light. So how can the eye be a lamp to the whole body.
Jesus uses the metaphor to get us to consider how we view the world around us. For our attitude shapes our physical conditions in many ways.
We talk of those who have romantically optimistic outlooks as looking at the world “through rose colored glasses.” We mean that they are seeing beauty and softness where things are in reality otherwise. We know it is a delusion of sorts, pitiable, because eventually the Rose-Glasses Wearer will have to come into blunt contact with how things really are.
There are those who accuse believers of deluding themselves, of wearing rose colored classes and refusing to see the world as it is. And the accusers are not just non-believers, but often fellow Christians who in their “greater” spiritual maturity seek to discourage others from following delusions.
But seeing the world through rose colored glasses is not the same thing as seeing the world in the light of God. Filling ourselves with the light of God lets us walk IN the light, and it lets us see clearly those things around us.
Having clear sight means that one does indeed see the world as it is, all the petty squabbles, the hazards and obstacles that get thrown in the pathway of each of us. Having clear sight means that we know and understand the difficulties around us. But it also means that we do not let what we see “cloud our judgment” or thwart our energy and determination.
Jesus says that when our eyes are clear, we become filled with light. This taking of light into ourselves is not a benefit to us alone, but rather also to those around us. If we are filled with light, how can we not be a light to others?
We live in a cynical age. We live in a depressed age. Life is not easy and things are not rosy, not when we consider the over-all state of things. As believers we do need to see the world as it is. How can we see hunger and thirst (whether for righteousness or mere foodstuffs) if we do not see clearly? How can we see conflicts where we can be peacemakers if we do not see clearly? How can we see repentance that calls for mercy, if we do not see clearly?
Our trust in the Lord’s providence cannot be based on a rose-colored vision of Pie in the Sky. It needs to be based on a clear perception of what is happening around us, and what the Lord is doing.
But to be filled with light and to see the world in and through that light means that we have to let go of our cynical approach to life. Things may be harsh and difficult, but in the light of God’s presence in our lives, we can also see the possibilities for His Glory to shine in our actions.
“With God all things are possible.”
That doesn’t mean that things do not remain harsh or difficult. Of course they do. But it does mean that we ourselves do not have to become harsh or difficult as well. If we are filled with light, if we are a lamp indeed, then we can throw light on the world around us and change what is most immediate. And if we spread our light just a little bit to others, they also begin to take on that light, adding to it.
I’ve tried to live by this, though I haven’t always succeeded. The very next verse, Jesus speaks of those who let their vision get clouded, and Lord knows I’ve done that! But choosing to clear my vision of the dark clouds has lightened my inner being. It doesn’t make the problems less, or the difficulties easier. But I am not so much one who “dwells in darkness.”
We must take care when we see our fellow believers bright with hope and optimism. We should carefully nurture them and find out if they are indeed seeing clearly or not. We should not assume that their happy brightness glows through a rose tinting. It would be very easy for us to discourage others by treating them as deluded dreamers. We are told to encourage each other, to lift each other up.
Are we letting the light in?
And more importantly, are we letting the light out, to shine on others?
The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
(Matthew 6: 22)
When we talk about happy and joyful people, we often speak of them having “bright eyes”. Something about our internal state of being shows in our faces, and in particular, in our eyes.
The eye is the organ we use to see what is around us. So it seems a bit odd for Jesus to compare the eye to a lamp. The eye does not, in fact, give out light the way a lamp does. It is “just” the means by which we see light. So how can the eye be a lamp to the whole body.
Jesus uses the metaphor to get us to consider how we view the world around us. For our attitude shapes our physical conditions in many ways.
We talk of those who have romantically optimistic outlooks as looking at the world “through rose colored glasses.” We mean that they are seeing beauty and softness where things are in reality otherwise. We know it is a delusion of sorts, pitiable, because eventually the Rose-Glasses Wearer will have to come into blunt contact with how things really are.
There are those who accuse believers of deluding themselves, of wearing rose colored classes and refusing to see the world as it is. And the accusers are not just non-believers, but often fellow Christians who in their “greater” spiritual maturity seek to discourage others from following delusions.
But seeing the world through rose colored glasses is not the same thing as seeing the world in the light of God. Filling ourselves with the light of God lets us walk IN the light, and it lets us see clearly those things around us.
Having clear sight means that one does indeed see the world as it is, all the petty squabbles, the hazards and obstacles that get thrown in the pathway of each of us. Having clear sight means that we know and understand the difficulties around us. But it also means that we do not let what we see “cloud our judgment” or thwart our energy and determination.
Jesus says that when our eyes are clear, we become filled with light. This taking of light into ourselves is not a benefit to us alone, but rather also to those around us. If we are filled with light, how can we not be a light to others?
We live in a cynical age. We live in a depressed age. Life is not easy and things are not rosy, not when we consider the over-all state of things. As believers we do need to see the world as it is. How can we see hunger and thirst (whether for righteousness or mere foodstuffs) if we do not see clearly? How can we see conflicts where we can be peacemakers if we do not see clearly? How can we see repentance that calls for mercy, if we do not see clearly?
Our trust in the Lord’s providence cannot be based on a rose-colored vision of Pie in the Sky. It needs to be based on a clear perception of what is happening around us, and what the Lord is doing.
But to be filled with light and to see the world in and through that light means that we have to let go of our cynical approach to life. Things may be harsh and difficult, but in the light of God’s presence in our lives, we can also see the possibilities for His Glory to shine in our actions.
“With God all things are possible.”
That doesn’t mean that things do not remain harsh or difficult. Of course they do. But it does mean that we ourselves do not have to become harsh or difficult as well. If we are filled with light, if we are a lamp indeed, then we can throw light on the world around us and change what is most immediate. And if we spread our light just a little bit to others, they also begin to take on that light, adding to it.
I’ve tried to live by this, though I haven’t always succeeded. The very next verse, Jesus speaks of those who let their vision get clouded, and Lord knows I’ve done that! But choosing to clear my vision of the dark clouds has lightened my inner being. It doesn’t make the problems less, or the difficulties easier. But I am not so much one who “dwells in darkness.”
We must take care when we see our fellow believers bright with hope and optimism. We should carefully nurture them and find out if they are indeed seeing clearly or not. We should not assume that their happy brightness glows through a rose tinting. It would be very easy for us to discourage others by treating them as deluded dreamers. We are told to encourage each other, to lift each other up.
Are we letting the light in?
And more importantly, are we letting the light out, to shine on others?
Labels: Matthew 6, Sermon on the Mount
posted by Sarah | 2:25 PM
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