In our daily meditations, we are looking at what Jesus taught in His famous Sermon on the Mount. The Lord now turned His attention from the heart to focus on what you give your eyes to—how you view life in this present evil world system we live in. Do you look at life with a view to eternity, or are you confirmed in your belief that there is no life beyond the grave? The worldview you hold affects your life. Are you the master of your life, or is God the One seated on the throne of your life? Here’s how Jesus put it:
22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:22-24).
When I left commercial fishing to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, I started my own business of cleaning windows to provide for my family. It gave me the freedom to manage my time for church planting. People would see me cleaning the windows of their next-door neighbor and ask me to do theirs as well. People were surprised at how much light came inside their homes once their windows were cleaned. The eyes are the windows of the soul, the instrument that regulates light into the inner man. Some people refuse to open the blinds of their windows. They like the darkness and control how much Biblical light they allow, sometimes even refusing to hear anything that will challenge their worldview. Let the light in, and the whole body will have light. Our windows can get distorted by the things we see through them. In the time of Jesus, all kinds of prejudices against the Samaritans and the Gentiles distorted the way Jews viewed people. We also can allow all sorts of prejudices to fog up the windows of the way we view people. Other examples of our eyes being unhealthy are jealousy of others, as well as the self-conceit of thinking of ourselves as more important than others.
The amount of light or darkness we allow into our soul is often one of the first areas of attack by the evil one. The enemy prompts thoughts to view something unhealthy for our soul that should set off alarm bells in our hearts if we are awake to spiritual things. The attack is different for each of us. What gets a second look for one does not affect another. For instance, I do not take a second look at what shoes a person wears, but obviously, Imelda Marcos valued such things highly (See yesterday’s meditation). The temptation is often on small things first, gradually, incrementally, gaining in darkness until the windows of the eyes become shutters to the light.
When we refuse to let the light shine into our hearts, our eyes become darkened, as likewise, our hearts. Jesus said, “But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (v. 23).
Can evil be seen in a person's eyes? Although we do not want to pre-judge others by appearance, in some cases, evil can be discerned spiritually. Some interviewers, when speaking to murderers or serial killers, have noted a flat or dead-looking appearance in the eyes of those who have committed such crimes. The people who interview such individuals sometimes describe a coldness and have chills themselves during the encounter with such a person. Where does this come from? It is a very vivid testimony that evil is real. My dear fellow believers in Christ, protect the eye gate of the soul. Take care of what you view and allow entrance into your inner man, your soul. May you be full of light instead of the darkness of this world. Keith Thomas
This meditation is from the complete study found at the following link: https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/engsermon/5.-laying-up-treasure-in-heaven