Heart-Eyes
The eye is the lamp of the body. Such a curious and intriguing statement makes me read it twice and then again. I have heard it taught, but hadn't really pondered it until now. Just as a lamp lights up the room and allows us to see things in perspective, so our eyes are the light by which we view the world. It makes me wonder: is this talking about the eyes of my heart (spiritual eyes) or my actual vision (physical eyes)?
Could it actually be both? We have eyes, and we have eyes of our hearts. What if our eyes and our heart-eyes are more connected than we realize? They might be so interconnected that conduction of sight cannot occur is both are not healthy, clear, and refined. If we want to change our heart-eyes, we may have to literally adjust our eyes and the way that they see the world.
Jesus taught that if the eyes are good, then the whole body will be full of light. If our vision is sharp and our perspectives are clear, then we will see the world in a new way. The physical and spiritual sight become so intertwined that you can hardly distinguish between the two. When our eyes see, our heart-eyes are filled with light.
I think about Balaam (whose story is found in Numbers 22-24), who was hired by fearful king Balak to curse Israel. Balak had heard about God's power on behalf of the Israelites, so he wanted Balaam to curse Israel for his own protection. When Balaam was on his way, "the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw an angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn." As it turned out, God blocked Balaam's path as a way to say, "Don't pursue this path of cursing." As He opened Balaam's eyes to see His presence, He also opened his heart-eyes to see blessings instead of curses. God turns curses into blessing, and He does it through open eyes and open heart-eyes.
Balaam promised to only speak what the Lord told him to speak, and nothing more or less. When Balak led him to various locations to look out over the Israelite camp and proclaim a curse over them, Balaam only spoke blessings every time. As Balaam looked out over the Israelite camp, God opened His eyes to see the camp in a new light, and then He opened his heart-eyes to see Israel as a blessing, not a curse. And then He opened his mouth to pour out only blessings.
I wonder if my eyes were truly open, if then my heart-eyes would begin to focus. The physical and spiritual would come together into perspective like binocular vision. My eyes might begin to see God in my path, and my heart eyes would see blessings instead of curses. Only then might I be free to speak only blessings.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see you in my paths and see you in my heart. I want binocular vision. Turn what I see as curses into blessings. Empower me to then speak only blessings. How I see changes everything, Lord. Open my eyes to see you in everything - to see something more.
Could it actually be both? We have eyes, and we have eyes of our hearts. What if our eyes and our heart-eyes are more connected than we realize? They might be so interconnected that conduction of sight cannot occur is both are not healthy, clear, and refined. If we want to change our heart-eyes, we may have to literally adjust our eyes and the way that they see the world.
Jesus taught that if the eyes are good, then the whole body will be full of light. If our vision is sharp and our perspectives are clear, then we will see the world in a new way. The physical and spiritual sight become so intertwined that you can hardly distinguish between the two. When our eyes see, our heart-eyes are filled with light.
I think about Balaam (whose story is found in Numbers 22-24), who was hired by fearful king Balak to curse Israel. Balak had heard about God's power on behalf of the Israelites, so he wanted Balaam to curse Israel for his own protection. When Balaam was on his way, "the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw an angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn." As it turned out, God blocked Balaam's path as a way to say, "Don't pursue this path of cursing." As He opened Balaam's eyes to see His presence, He also opened his heart-eyes to see blessings instead of curses. God turns curses into blessing, and He does it through open eyes and open heart-eyes.
Balaam promised to only speak what the Lord told him to speak, and nothing more or less. When Balak led him to various locations to look out over the Israelite camp and proclaim a curse over them, Balaam only spoke blessings every time. As Balaam looked out over the Israelite camp, God opened His eyes to see the camp in a new light, and then He opened his heart-eyes to see Israel as a blessing, not a curse. And then He opened his mouth to pour out only blessings.
I wonder if my eyes were truly open, if then my heart-eyes would begin to focus. The physical and spiritual would come together into perspective like binocular vision. My eyes might begin to see God in my path, and my heart eyes would see blessings instead of curses. Only then might I be free to speak only blessings.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see you in my paths and see you in my heart. I want binocular vision. Turn what I see as curses into blessings. Empower me to then speak only blessings. How I see changes everything, Lord. Open my eyes to see you in everything - to see something more.
Loved how you tied Jesus' words back to the story of Balaam in the OT. So true---how we see with our heart, with our spiritual eyes, is so important to our perspective, and to our response to the "reality" around us. :)
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