|
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of God’s calling, what are the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints.
-Ephesians 1:18
My youngest son is at an age where he has begun to put words into phrases and copy those phrases from others around him. His favorite? “Oh Look!” It’s useful in so many circumstances. Things in the house, things on our walks, in his room, out the window, or on the TV. And now we use it to show him things too. His world is about discovery and anticipation, and so ours is too. By drawing our attention to things that are new to him, and us drawing his attention to things we want him to add to his experience, we see things with new eyes, new perspective.
Scripture tells us how important eyes are. What they look at, what we choose to see or not see, and even that our heart has eyes. Paul reminds the Ephesians that the eyes of our heart, our seat of emotion and compassion, must be set on God’s calling, God’s instruction. Enlightenment comes from God’s wisdom, and Paul is praying for their hearts to have eyes for the things of God. Paul is praying they focus on what God points them to see. God is saying, “oh, look!” And Paul doesn’t want them to miss it.
When we read scripture, study it together in Christian community, and ask the spirit to give us enlightened eyes of the heart, we are seeking God’s call. We are stunning ourselves to a way of seeing what’s important when God calls. When we learn and grow in God’s word, we see where God is pointing in this world, to people who need compassion, acceptance, living wages, affordable and accessible housing, justice, equitable education, affordable healthcare, and faith family. When we get serious about internalizing God’s wisdom and God’s call on our lives, we can hear in our daily lives, God saying, “oh, look!”
|
