"Blessed are your eyes because they see ...", said Jesus to those who were gathered around him after one of His parables. Those same ears had also just heard Him describing the condition of many:
"While seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I should heal them.'" Matthew 13:13-16
Very, very sobering words!
I pondered the amazing life of Jesus, lived purely and for others, abounding with supernatural works, foretold and anticipated for centuries by the ancient prophets. I became aware in a new way that all the people who followed Him around saw the same miracles, heard the same words, and yet came away with different responses. His works could not be dismissed, but there were those who when they saw them, worshipped God and were filled with joy and renewed life, while others could only attribute His power to the devil. No matter that He did only good, loved the laws of God and knew the scriptures more intimately than any they had ever known. They were as oblivious as a stone being offered a rose.
I prayed then, as I have prayed many times since then, "Don't let my heart become dull! Let my eyes be eyes that see, and my ears inclined toward You in such a way that I can hear."
The preceding parable in Matthew is one familiar to us, of the seed sown into four types of soil: hardened ground, shallow ground, better ground but where weeds choked out the fruit, and "good soil" that eventually yielded a rich harvest.
I am writing about this whole idea of seeing but not seeing because I have come to believe that it is only with intentionality--actually, courageous determination-- that we will make it through the gauntlet of not only the wearying normal cares and pressures of life, but the debilitating materialism of our culture, the frenetic pace that we attempt, and the superficial externality of our world, without our hearts becoming dull, and the precious seeds of life sown well and received, eventually "choked out" as in the parable. The Lord, in Jeremiah 2:5, described His precious ones as having walked after emptiness and having become empty themselves.
Dr. Luke, in describing Paul's experience that so revolutionized his world, described literal scales falling off his eyes when he received prayer for recovery of his sight, in keeping with the internal work that had been going on in his heart for days. We observe Paul so valuing this capacity to truly see that we find it part of his language from then on:
"darkened hearts" Romans 1:21; "blinded minds, unable to see the glory of Christ" II Cor.4:4; "...a veil lies over their heart..." II Cor. 3:15; "the One who has shone in our hearts" II Cor:4:6; "But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ... we all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord..." II Cor. 3:16,18
And of course from his profound prayer recorded in the Ephesian letter: "I ... do not cease [to pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of ... revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe..." 1:16-19
Jesus charged His loved ones at Laodicea (Rev. 3:18) to anoint their eyes with eye salve, so they could see once again! How we need to come to Him more than once or twice for eye salve in our earthly journey!
All this to say that this blog is not about hugging trees and getting a stiff neck taking in the night sky. It is about having hearts that stay so tender that the handiwork of our God, in the spirit and in the natural world around us, in the depth of His word and in the intimacy of His presence, never ceases to take our breath away. It is about finding delight at the most demanding moments in the shimmering translucence of the leaves created by the One we love, or the summer clouds amassed over the gridlock when we lift up our eyes, or His Spirit stirring life in our hearts.
Over a million people left Egypt in an unprecedented, historically massive escape from slavery. Yet all that the majority of them ended up seeing was endlessly looming hardship, while Moses sang,
"Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation."
And at the end of his life: "There is none like the God of [Israel], Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms." ! Exodus 15:11,13; Deut. 33:26,27
"Keep yourselves in the love of God", wrote Jude. "I have inclined my heart," wrote the psalmist, "...forever, even to the end." "My soul keeps" (cherishes, savors) "Thy testimonies, and I love them exceedingly." Psalm 119:112,167 "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the springs of life." Proverbs 4:23
And Jesus charged His friends to remember at the worst of times to "lift up [their] heads" and to "look up".
That is the real longing of my heart; to not gain the world at the expense of my soul, my personhood created by my Creator; to not lose my way in the tedium and the minutia of the tyranny of the urgent, or in the momentum of impending doom, and forget to look up and to truly see. In seeing, there is refreshment, restoration of soul, the quickening of our hearts to be transcendentally loved, and to love in return.
"The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
Their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech," (are we listening?!)
"And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
[But] their sound has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world."
from Psalm 19
We are surrounded, above, around, beneath, and in our own hearts, with the signs of His goodness and glory.
"Blessed are the pure" (uncluttered, uncorrupted) "in heart, for they shall see God."
(From our own Beloved, Matthew 5:8)
"While seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I should heal them.'" Matthew 13:13-16
Very, very sobering words!
I pondered the amazing life of Jesus, lived purely and for others, abounding with supernatural works, foretold and anticipated for centuries by the ancient prophets. I became aware in a new way that all the people who followed Him around saw the same miracles, heard the same words, and yet came away with different responses. His works could not be dismissed, but there were those who when they saw them, worshipped God and were filled with joy and renewed life, while others could only attribute His power to the devil. No matter that He did only good, loved the laws of God and knew the scriptures more intimately than any they had ever known. They were as oblivious as a stone being offered a rose.
I prayed then, as I have prayed many times since then, "Don't let my heart become dull! Let my eyes be eyes that see, and my ears inclined toward You in such a way that I can hear."The preceding parable in Matthew is one familiar to us, of the seed sown into four types of soil: hardened ground, shallow ground, better ground but where weeds choked out the fruit, and "good soil" that eventually yielded a rich harvest.
I am writing about this whole idea of seeing but not seeing because I have come to believe that it is only with intentionality--actually, courageous determination-- that we will make it through the gauntlet of not only the wearying normal cares and pressures of life, but the debilitating materialism of our culture, the frenetic pace that we attempt, and the superficial externality of our world, without our hearts becoming dull, and the precious seeds of life sown well and received, eventually "choked out" as in the parable. The Lord, in Jeremiah 2:5, described His precious ones as having walked after emptiness and having become empty themselves.
Dr. Luke, in describing Paul's experience that so revolutionized his world, described literal scales falling off his eyes when he received prayer for recovery of his sight, in keeping with the internal work that had been going on in his heart for days. We observe Paul so valuing this capacity to truly see that we find it part of his language from then on:
"darkened hearts" Romans 1:21; "blinded minds, unable to see the glory of Christ" II Cor.4:4; "...a veil lies over their heart..." II Cor. 3:15; "the One who has shone in our hearts" II Cor:4:6; "But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ... we all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord..." II Cor. 3:16,18
And of course from his profound prayer recorded in the Ephesian letter: "I ... do not cease [to pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of ... revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe..." 1:16-19
Jesus charged His loved ones at Laodicea (Rev. 3:18) to anoint their eyes with eye salve, so they could see once again! How we need to come to Him more than once or twice for eye salve in our earthly journey!All this to say that this blog is not about hugging trees and getting a stiff neck taking in the night sky. It is about having hearts that stay so tender that the handiwork of our God, in the spirit and in the natural world around us, in the depth of His word and in the intimacy of His presence, never ceases to take our breath away. It is about finding delight at the most demanding moments in the shimmering translucence of the leaves created by the One we love, or the summer clouds amassed over the gridlock when we lift up our eyes, or His Spirit stirring life in our hearts.
Over a million people left Egypt in an unprecedented, historically massive escape from slavery. Yet all that the majority of them ended up seeing was endlessly looming hardship, while Moses sang,
"Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation."
And at the end of his life: "There is none like the God of [Israel], Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms." ! Exodus 15:11,13; Deut. 33:26,27
"Keep yourselves in the love of God", wrote Jude. "I have inclined my heart," wrote the psalmist, "...forever, even to the end." "My soul keeps" (cherishes, savors) "Thy testimonies, and I love them exceedingly." Psalm 119:112,167 "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the springs of life." Proverbs 4:23
And Jesus charged His friends to remember at the worst of times to "lift up [their] heads" and to "look up".
That is the real longing of my heart; to not gain the world at the expense of my soul, my personhood created by my Creator; to not lose my way in the tedium and the minutia of the tyranny of the urgent, or in the momentum of impending doom, and forget to look up and to truly see. In seeing, there is refreshment, restoration of soul, the quickening of our hearts to be transcendentally loved, and to love in return.
"The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
Their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech," (are we listening?!)
"And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
[But] their sound has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world."
from Psalm 19
We are surrounded, above, around, beneath, and in our own hearts, with the signs of His goodness and glory.
"Blessed are the pure" (uncluttered, uncorrupted) "in heart, for they shall see God."
(From our own Beloved, Matthew 5:8)
No comments:
Post a Comment