My Eyes

9-28-08

SCRIPTURE

"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness." (Luke 11:34)

OBSERVATION

Jesus didn't pull any punches when He communicated the dangers in life and the way to live life. That’s because Jesus came to give us LIFE abundantly. Our eyes, He says, are the lamp to our souls--to our inner life. Through my eyes, I can allow distrust, pride, judgment, cynicism, anger, love, peace and patience...to enter my heart. What I 'see' affects my thought life, attitudes, perceptions of people and situations - my eyes can light up my heart…and it certainly can darken it.

APPLICATION

This morning I woke up with a bad attitude. I was upset with our kids for leaving a trail of a mess wherever they went. I was frustrated that I had to spend more and more of my time just putting stuff back in its place. I was acting like an 'army of one' and I wanted my whole family to know I was upset. I’m not sure what triggered it. I was tired and my filter was weak, I guess. I had allowed my eyes to go bad for a moment. My eyes were deceiving me into believing that I had the right to carry around this bad attitude. Certainly 'seeing' can be life giving. Seeing (if left unchecked) can also bring death. This "seeing" isn't referring to just ‘what’ I see but ‘how’ I see. Honestly, all I was seeing, this morning was me. It was all about me. I couldn’t see it at the time, though. I felt justified.

I need to be very cautious, watchful, and intent on "How I Process What I see." When I see myself getting a bad attitude, I need to have my eyes rechecked to see what’s at the root of my attitude. Without God’s Life in me, my sight is not real good. My actions may be to quickly judge, be angry or take offense and sides. My response should be - take a step back and process through God's heart and eyes, asking Him, "What do you see Lord?"

After I got a nap our family was around the dinner table and I made sure they knew I was sorry for my bad attitude this morning. I asked them to forgive me. I asked God to give me His eyes for today and tomorrow.

PRAYER

Lord - I want to be different by asking You more often, what You see. Forgive me for responding to quickly with impure thoughts and bad attitudes in my challenges. What do You see in me Lord? May You see a lit up heart, fully devoted to You! May You see a Dad that’s full of patience, joy, gentleness, self-control and love. May You see a Husband that’s full of grace, patience, joy, peace and love.