Open your heart's eyes

The results will be, um, eye-opening.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19

For the first few weeks of his life, my son was unhappy. He spent most of his waking moments whining and crying. Nothing pacified him. Then, one day, he was fine. He was a normal baby, entertained by rattlers, peek-a-boo, and pat-a-cake.

My wife and I often discussed what changed. My theory was that my son could finally see clearly. Before the change, he never seemed to focus on faces or toys. All of a sudden, he did. I'm no physiologist, but maybe complex organs like eyes occasionally take time to develop. If all you saw of life was a vague blur, you might be frustrated, too. But once the blur focused into sharp clarity, you’d be happier.

It's just a theory. True or not, it gives a helpful analogy of what can happen to us when “the eyes of our hearts” are “enlightened,” as it says in Ephesians 1: 18-19. When that happens, according to the Word, we’ll know everlasting hope, riches of the spirit, and God’s great power.

How can we enlighten our heart’s eyes—or, put another way, uncover our hearts from darkness? We might start by rubbing the world out of our eyes. Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Consider the media we scroll, the shows we watch, the music we listen to, and the books we read. Are they true, noble, right, pure, lovely, or admirable? If not, wipe them away and let some light in.

Matthew 7:5 gives us another clue when Jesus says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” That means cleaning our hearts of the same flaws we dislike in others. It might entail improving our selfish, mercurial attitudes, judging others by their best intentions, and giving generously without thought of receiving in return.

And then? The eyes of our hearts will be enlightened, allowing us to “see clearly” to remove the specks from others’ eyes—not by punishing or appraising, but by helping, understanding, and sympathizing.

Opening our heart’s eyes also allows us to see other things that were hidden from us before. We can see God’s fingerprints all over our lives, changing our mentality from “have to” to “get to.” We can see the unfolding of His plan and purpose for us like a lighted path. We can stop staring at problems and start focusing on solutions. We can see the beauty in God’s creation. We can find the goodness inside of others. We can see opportunities to help, serve, give, and love.

Enlightening our heart’s eyes to these things bring us joy and peace that passes understanding. But if those eyes remain unenlightened, we are like my infant son, trying to find meaning in blurry, indiscernible images, grabbing and groping through constant darkness.

You may have gotten so used to the darkness that you don’t even realize it, but God has a better way. You can live in light and clarity. If you want that like I do, pray that God will help open the eyes of your heart.

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Graceful Contemplations

"O Christ, my life, possess me utterly.
Take me and make a little Christ of me.
If I am anything but thy father's son,
'Tis something not yet from the darkness won.
Oh, give me light to live with open eyes.
Oh, give me life to hope above all skies."

—George MacDonald

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Thank you for reading!

December was full of wonderful Christmas memories. I got to spend some time with my family, celebrated my wedding anniversary, had a luncheon with my ACFW friends, and had a Christmas party with my youth group. I wish all of you a happy new year!