In the Eyes part 3
One of the biggest, most important things that Jesus came to the earth to do was open our eyes. Shine the light of the world and show us how things really are. Show us the Father. Reveal Himself to us--and then, through the cross, reveal Himself in us, and through us, and as us! Back in the garden of Eden the sepent told Eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil her eyes would be opened. But here's the thing to remember: the sepent was a liar. What really happened was Eve's NATURAL eyes were opened, but mankind's Spiritual eyes were closed. Isn't it interesting that one of the miracles Jesus performed the most was giving blind people sight? Look at Matthew 9:28-30, "And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened..." In the Message Bible verse 29 reads like this, "He touched their eyes and said, 'Become what you believe.'" That's what happens. We become what we believe. Remember the progression from doves' eyes to BEING a dove. First we see with the Spirit then we BECOME the Spirit. We know and believe that we are loved... and we become love! But here's the key: Seeing is believing. Faith is not about trying to make something happen. Faith, in a word, is trust. And you can only trust something that HAS happened. You can trust in the finished work because it is finished. It's not a blessed hope, it's a blessed reality. It's not something you want God to do, it's something He has already done. Remember the Roman centurian? When he SAW the death of the Lamb he knew Jesus was the Son of God. It's in the eyes. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus came to open our eyes. When we judge according to appearance--or good and evil--then we don't see what's really there. If we judge according to the surface, or according to circumstances, then we miss the deep. We miss the inner man. The hidden man of the heart. But when we stop looking AT things and start looking INTO things--when we look INTO the mirror with an unveiled face--then we see what's really there. Then we can stop judging each other (and ourselves) and start LOVING each other (and ourselves). Become what you believe. Seeing is believing. With open eyes, and open ears, and open minds, and open hearts... that's when we begin to experience the Kingdom of God all around us. The Kingdom of God that is WITHIN us, and bursting at the seams to get OUT of us! You can't experience the height and depth and length and breadth of God's love if your eyes are closed. You can't be who you really are unless you can SEE who you really are. Unless you can SEE Jesus in you. And when you see Him in you, that's when you can see Him in others. The connection of love is the Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. But that kind of beauty isn't in the surface. It's in the eyes.