Tuesday, December 9, 2014

"The Seeing Eye"


     No human being has ever seen his or her own face.  We've seen reflections in mirrors, of course, and perhaps in the still and glassy waters of a pond or lake.  But we've actually never seen our own face, God having embedded our eyes into their sockets in a posture that directs them to look outward and away.

    This tells us much about the perspective for which our Lord created us.  

    "I will look for Him… Look not every man on his own things, but also on the things of others" (Isaiah 8:17; Philippians 2:4).

    Great peace, the peace of God's own character, descends upon us and arises within us when we join Him in seeking not our own blessing, but the blessing of others.  "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).  We were made for this, and when things went awry in Adam, the Lord acted in selflessness to redeem us for this outward and away gaze of His character, nature, and way.  "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).  

    Our flesh presently rebels against such truth and reality (Galatians 5:17).  Moreover, the devil and the world seek to invert our focus, tempting us to direct our attention to the unholy trinity of "I, Me, and My" that blinds us to the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Self-centeredness, pride, and/or self-pity result from our wayward gaze, and more importantly, we fail to behold the Light that illuminates the glory of God unto, within, and through us.  

    "Heavenly Father, thank You that in our very eyes, we see the Truth for which You made and redeemed us through Christ.  By His leading and enabling, we therefore determine to direct our gaze upward, outward, and away to Your glory and will, and to the needs of others.  Thank you for the peace that inevitably results when Your love delivers us from the self-centered focus that blinds us to Truth and reality.  We choose to see as You made us to see - upward, outward, and away.  In the name of the Lord Jesus we pray, Amen."

"The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them."
(Psalm 20:12)
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."
(Hebrews 12:2)

Weekly Memory Verse
   "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
(II Timothy 3:16)
    

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