Victorious Living: The eye is the lamp of the body

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light. But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very light in you (your conscience) is darkened, how dense is that darkness!" (Matt. 6: 22-23)

In reference to this scripture, take a look at some examples from the Bible. Moses was raised in Egypt in affluence surrounded by riches and splendor. Yet, he was single-minded and did not allow all of the earthly prosperity to take control of his heart. Because Moses’ eyes were good, his entire body was full of light. “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:26-27). Moses chose serving Christ of greater value than spending his days luxuriating in the worldly riches of Egypt. In obedience to where God was leading him and in faith, he left Egypt, without fearing the anger of man, but rather persevering in the things of God.

Are your eyes good? Is your whole body full of light? Do you have spiritual vision? If you have the ability to see clearly what God wants you to do; if you see the world from God's point of view, then you have spiritual vision. Be aware, however, that such spiritual wisdom can be easily clouded by worldly interests and pursuits. Desires and goals that are self-centered block spiritual vision. The best way to restore spiritual vision is to return to serving God. A "pure" eye is an eye that is steadily fixed on God.

Consider Paul who was a Hebrew of Hebrews, well educated and a persecutor of the church. Paul was made single-minded through the grace of God. Paul’s eyes were made good and his body became full of light. Everything that was former gain or profit to Paul, he counted as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus. He considered those things rubbish and his desire was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Paul was willing to forget what was behind and press toward or strain toward what was ahead. He pressed on toward the goal to win the prize for which God called him heavenward in Christ Jesus (Eph. 3: 7-14)

What are you willing to leave behind in order to press forward? What in this world is captivating your eyes that are the lamp of your body? Should you, like Paul, consider such things rubbish in order that you might know Christ? Have you been made single-minded through the grace of God? Moses and Paul went through some difficulties; they suffered and experienced dark times. Yet, inside they were both full of light. They had the wisdom to look at earthly things and see that they held no eternal value.

On the other hand, the rich, young nobleman, choose to hold onto his possessions, rather than to sell them and follow Jesus. This shows that the nobleman’s eyes were bad in that he valued his earthly possessions over and above following Christ. In his body was darkness (Matt. 19: 20-22). Judas also had an evil eye. Here you have a man who walked with Jesus, had the opportunity to look into Jesus’ heart. If anyone should have known the value of heavenly treasures, it should have been Judas. But what did he do? He sold out Jesus for a few measly pieces of silver. The great darkness that Judas entered was total hopelessness.

Spiritually speaking, make certain that your physical eyes, which are a lamp to your body, are good because they will then give light to your entire body. This will enable you to be obedient to the things of God and flow in all of your Godly work and activities. Pray for those whose eyes are blind and whose bodies are in darkness, for the work and activities of those whose eyes are blind will be greatly hindered or made impossible. Keep your eyes clear so you can faithfully execute your calling in service to the Lord. It is impossible to walk in faith and love without keeping the eyes of your soul focused resolutely upon Christ.

In Eph. 1:17-18, Paul prays and asks God to give the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to believers so that they may know Christ better. Paul also prayed that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened in order that they would know the hope to which God had called them. Like Paul, pray for eyes that are single-minded so that you do not confuse the treasures of this world with the treasures of heaven. Confusion in this area will cause you to be self-focused and consumed with the erroneous and fleeting things of this world, which in your blindness, you will consider gain.

Victorious Living Lesson: Victory comes with being prepared to boldly and without fear leave your earthly treasures behind in order to persevere and be obedient to where God is leading you.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Enlighten the eyes of my heart and my physical eyes so they continue to be a lamp to my body. Help me to walk obediently before you Lord and I pray for wisdom and revelation so that I may know Christ more intimately and know the hope to which I have been called. In the name of Jesus, Amen.