It's the eyes that get me.
They fill me with a perplexing mix of joy and dread. They look at me—at ME!—and I can't escape their view. They see my need, but more, they also see ME for who I REALLY am. Before them I am transparent, utterly without concealment, and known in far greater depth than I even know myself. I remember:
They fill me with a perplexing mix of joy and dread. They look at me—at ME!—and I can't escape their view. They see my need, but more, they also see ME for who I REALLY am. Before them I am transparent, utterly without concealment, and known in far greater depth than I even know myself. I remember:
No creature is
hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of
him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).
What's with the eyes?
The Apostle John (in Revelation 1:14)
describes Jesus in His eternal glory as having “eyes like a flame
of fire.” That's the phrase I remember best from this section of
Scripture. Maybe it's because I memorized two different “Eye of the
Lord” Bible verses when I was just a lad; they have rung in my head
ever since:
For the eyes of
the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth, to give strong support
to those whose heart is blameless before him (II Chronicles 16:9).
The eyes of the
Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good
(Proverbs 15:3).
I know the Lord is present everywhere.
But I forget that He WANTS to be there, and that He actively exists
in every place with His eyes actively searching out hearts and minds
and motives and desires. He actively knows every detail from every
possible perspective.
And His eyes are aflame. Holiness.
Purity. Perfection. And burning zeal for His glory. I'm not only
uncovered in His sight, I am undone. All my impurities stand out in
stark contrast to His holiness.
I am grateful for the way Jesus
revealed His character to us when He lived here—when He was emptied
of His eternal glory and “found in the likeness of men.” His eyes
must have been something to see. Look at the way the Apostles saw
them:
He saw a large
crowd and felt compassion for them (Matthew 14:14).
When the Lord saw
her, he felt compassion for her (Luke 7:13).
Seeing the people,
he felt compassion for them (Matthew 9:36).
Many times the writers of the New
Testament join the Lord's compassion to His perception. From His
sight flows mercy.
When I couple these two realities
together—the holy fire of His perfect vision with His character of
mercy and compassion—I breathe a genuine sigh of relief. He sees
me; He knows me; He still loves me and cares for my needs.
But I find that my knowledge of His
perfect perception changes ME! The fire purifies me. I act differently when I know He's
watching.
I wonder how Peter felt when, after he
denied the Lord three times, “the Lord turned and looked at" him (Luke 22:61). Apparently the denial took place close to where Jesus
was being illegally tried. And the Lord knew Peter would fail, and
looked directly at him when the sin was complete. “And Peter went out and wept bitterly.”
Lord Jesus, as I enter a new year,
please remind me often of Your presence—Your holy, fiery, blazing
perfection. And may I humbly fall at Your perfect, holy feet to
praise You for Your compassion and mercy! Let me see you seeing me before I am brought to tears and bitter weeping.