Tuesday 2 March 2010

Eyes

I have been having a ponder about the wonder of our eyes recently. In the film/book ‘Dune’ people are addicted to a chemical called Spice which makes their eyes shine so blue. The trailer for it showed a young girl with bright blue eyes and it set me off wondering about the brightness of eyes and what makes them shine brightly, other than good contact lens.
Physically our eyes are amazing beyond description, so magnificent, unique and beautiful. They are so complex in design they cannot be copied and surely point to a creator. They are so clever, gathering up information from two perspectives, sending it along the optic nerve for image processing, changing shape depending on the environment and guiding us through our world. A good diet no doubt helps keep them shiny and depending on your upbringing eating carrots help you see in the dark.... However our eyes are more than just one of the five physical senses, they seem to have a connection to our spirituality.
It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Can we really know something about people by looking in their eyes? Can we stare deeply into someone’s eyes and other than get increasingly itchy eyes and a sense of being uncomfortable, see something deeper? Eye contact is seen as one of the best ways to formulate trust in a relationship. Having shifty eyes is deemed to be a negative quality. Kindness, truthfulness, wisdom, laughter, sorrow, depth of love, all attributed to the eyes. Eyes, like a window, look both ways - what people see in our eyes and what we look at. Can what we look at determine the state of our soul?
Jesus said the eye is the lamp of the body, if your eyes are good you whole body will be full of light. So what does that mean, if your eyes are good, I am sure he was talking more than physical excellence. Can we train our eyes to be good and can we assist them in growing brighter. There is a story in the bible about Jonathan eating honey and his eyes grew brighter, partly because the army were tired and the sugar increased their energy but also honey was linked to the word of God and revelation and we can make the link that the word of God makes our eyes shine brighter. Psalm 19:8 says that the commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Proverbs teach us that bribery makes the eyes dim –turn a blind eye! Sorrow and grief make the eyes weak and dim and hopelessness makes them fail - these are the times when we really need to find a way for our eyes to be brighter.
There are stories of God opening people’s spiritual eyes in order for them to see what was right in from of them. Balaam’s being shown the angel standing in the road, which his donkey could clearly see and was reacting accordingly, Elisha and his panicking servant whose eyes were opened to see the army of the Lord on the surrounding hillside to mention a couple.
So I read my bible for revelation and I wait for God to open my eyes so they will shine brighter but I think there is more otherwise this verse wouldn’t make any sense:
‘So 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
How can we see what is unseen unless we have already been given eyes to see. I think one of the benefits of being born again is being given eyes to see and the spirit within me tells me where to look. Hebrews tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. So for bright shining eyes believing I already have them is definitely a good place to start and using them to look at Jesus, well it doesn’t get better.

3 comments:

  1. Love this Mags,

    "Open my eyes Lord and make them brighter so I can see what you want me to see!"

    Becca Adkins

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  2. Ay ay cap'n, t'is good sight you ave ere X

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