“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34NIV
How you look at things affects the quality of your entire life. Here Jesus explicitly tells us that our eyes are the means by which light and vibrancy enters our life. Jesus is of course talking about more than just our physical eyes, He is referring to how we view the world around us.
When we look at the world through eyes tainted with cynicism or from a perspective that looks only for what we can get for ourselves, the result is darkness and lack of fruitfulness.
The original word in this verse that is used to describe the eyes as healthy implies an outlook that is full of generosity and wholeness. In contrast, the unhealthy eye is one that is stingy, squinted and dysfunctional.
The end product of a stingy, self-centred view of the world and of the message of the gospel is one of darkness, dryness and lack. Jesus reminds us that the gospel is a message that is more than enough for everyone. When life is viewed from the perspective of the abundant riches of His grace, when we look with an outward focus rather than a self centred ‘what’s in it for me’, then we will discover God’s light fully shining in us. Then those around us as well as ourselves will be blessed.
Today look at the world through the generous eyes of God’s grace and let His light fill your life.