It is often said that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and I tend to agree, to a point. We also have long entertained the phrase "an eye for an eye" in terms of just compensation for wrongs done. And still also there is one more that I wish to give to you my friends.
This one comes from two dear friends and mentors of mine, and I want you all to read and listen carefully, for this will get to the heart of what I am going to be writing of here:
"You become what you behold."
There you have it, but before getting to the meat you must first look at the skin, the outer layer, the context and story padding of the truth of which I now write.
We have a lot of sayings and proverbs that have to do with the eyes, I believe that this is important, for even the Scriptures have many things to say about the eyes of a man. And not simply the physical eyes, which grant us physical sight, or perception of the world around us, but the Scriptures speak of a different eye, an inner eye.
Let it be well known that I am not speaking of, nor giving credence to, any eastern religious trite, the inner eye I am speaking of here is the eyes of the heart, the spiritual ability given to us who have souls, namely humanity, to be able to perceive the things beyond our sight. One could call them, "the eyes of faith" for they perceive the spiritual, deep things of the universe, and about the Creator of the universe.
So then, first we must talk about eyes, how sight works, what perception is, and how this fits in to what I'm writing of, then we shall move on to beholding, what it means and what it means for us. So first, the eyes.
Scripture has much to say about the eyes, both physical, and the eyes of our hearts, that is, our internal eyes. Most of the time it is in fact speaking of the heart's eyes, the eyes that perceive the truths of God, whether then to be trusted or ignored. (Romans 1:18-23)
Let's look at Sight, what do we see? Well with our physical eyes we are able to perceive colours, shapes, and various other things. By them we see things that are beautiful and things that are not, we see both righteousness and sin through the same eyes, but that is where it ends. Our eyes may be able to see black and white, but do we perceive what they mean?
No indeed, for it is our other eyes that must "see" what is the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, sin and righteousness, and yet we know since the Fall that our eyes have been clouded by our sin, for the eyes of our hearts are darkened by our own desperately wicked nature.
So not only our perception of good and evil has been skewed, but also our perception of beauty. So we know our eyes are now darkened by sin, so how do we see now? Jesus Christ answers in Matthew 6:22-23
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
Our Savior knows us better than we know ourselves, for His eyes were never darkened, or jaded by the sinfulness of this world. So here we see that if we fill our eyes with darkness (which we do in our sin) then our whole body, or if you will, our whole self will be full of darkness. Jesus is basically saying: Whatever you look at, whatever you fill your eyes with, will pattern who you are.
And this passage is not referring to physical sight, certainly if you fill your physical eyes constantly with worldly pursuits and sinful things (think pornography) you will be full of darkness. But the truth here is that whatever you allow into your heart, whatever your heart's eyes see is what will pattern what you are filled of, light or darkness, there are only two options.
So then, very truly we see Jesus say that "We become what we behold". So what do we need to behold? For those of us who are Christians, saved by grace and the blood of Christ, what do we need to behold to keep ourselves full of light and keep our inner eyes from looking at sinful things?
Jesus gives us this to illustrate how important it is to keep our new heart's eyes clean: Mark 9:47 "And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell."
So, pretty shocking imagery right? Well not really, gouging out your eye to avoid eternal fire under the wrath of God? Easy choice, I would rather lose my sight than have my whole self be eternally tormented, which is what hell is.
Make no mistake, if you have new life in Christ the war to keep your new eyes, and by extension, your new heart clean and pure is an everyday battle, and a harsh one. So, I repeat the question, how do we do this?
Well recall that I said briefly that sin not only skewed our spiritual sight, but also our perception of beauty, so then, do we simply need to look at beautiful things? Or is there something deeper here?
Well let's look at Proverbs 3:7-8 "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones."
Okay what does that mean? Well it first means that we don't get the wisdom we need to keep our heart's eyes clean and free from sin from ourselves or in our own power. So, where do we get it?
Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your
Word."
So, "we become what we behold". How do we keep our eyes pure? By beholding, not evil, not sin, but God's Word where He has revealed Himself to us. So to keep our eyes clean and our hearts pure, we have to behold God, as He is revealed in His Word.
Not some fabricated, personal version of God that suits our fancies, but the Holy, Righteousness, Unchangeable, All-powerful, Sovereign God of the Universe who graciously gave us His Word so that we could know Him. BEHOLD Him.
Recall that the world is constantly trying to get our attention, to make us look back to our former sins, and thus recapture our hearts and lead us astray. In describing the sinful people who reject God, Peter says this:
2 Peter 2:14 "They [sinners] have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!"
So we must carefully watch our way, and pay close attention to what we fill our eyes with, both our physical, and our spiritual eyes.
So where do we go from here? Well the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian church says this, for the Word of God is meant to be lived out in our lives, but how do we see that? Philippians 3:17 "Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us."
So where can we learn to live this out? By watching those who have come before us, living by the same Word of God, we can see their faith and example of giving their lives to Christ and follow it, again, observation, our eyes have to see to follow, first Christ's example, and then the example of those who follow Him faithfully.
What else can we do to keep our eyes clean and pure? We can observe our hope and inheritance. Ephesians 1:18-20 "Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."
Two more things my friends, one a final encouragement, and the other, a final warning.
First the encouragement. Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God."
Where do we get the strength to run? By looking to Jesus, the One who began our faith by His own blood, and the One who will finish it, and nothing can thwart His design. What is the most beautiful thing that we can look at to keep our eyes from wandering? Nothing more than our Savior, Jesus Christ, for His beauty and purity surpass everything in this world, and nothing in Creation can match His Radiance.
And here is the warning: Hebrews 4:13 "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
Be careful my friends, for we have talked much of our eyes, but what about God's eyes? We must only read passages like Psalm 139 to know that God sees all and knows all, nothing is hidden from His sight, and we are accountable to Him for every action, every word, and every thought... And every sin.
But blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in Him, and Him alone we have salvation from our sins and peace with God through faith! How does God see us now? As Beloved Children, and as the objects of every grace and blessing in His power, which is boundless and endless.
And this is the promise, the design of our Lord: 2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from God who is the Spirit."
We will become like Him, as we behold Him. With the new eyes He gave us to see His glory, He will also change us to be holy as He is holy, that we might be with Him for all eternity.
I pray for Eyes that see Him for who He is, not who I want Him to be,
--The Scribe
