“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! [Matthew 6.22-23]
Okay, so, I have reviewed this passage before...
Why is this discussion about "the eye" right in the midst of Jesus' discussion about material things, life, and God's provision? Well, we might rightly conclude many things, but something I personally have not discussed before now regarding this passage is the fact that the eye has much to do with the topic of idolatry.
Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 115.4-8 bold added]
The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 135.15-18 bold added]
Actually, only until we understand the role of the eye in idolatry, do we fully comprehend the fact that Matthew 6-16-34 is all about trusting in God alone for everything. The opposite of trusting God alone is idolatry - trusting in anything other than or in addition to God.
It is not ironic that Jesus also used the role of "the eye" elsewhere in a discussion about us being healed:
For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ [Matthew 13.15 bold added]
We have control of what we see. We can look upon the world's life-solutions (idols) or we can intentionally look to God. The problem with looking to the world's idols is that, in time, and, much akin to snow blindness, we cannot see anything else. Consequently then, we cannot "see" and therefore, cannot enjoy, the miraculous blessings of God.
What is said here is true because it is what God's Word teaches ...if only we will to see it. If we do not make it our will to see God as our Provider for everything, He will provide nothing and we are left to the methods and conventions of man (idols). And, that is where we are today. And, that is why the Church today is quite literally a "joke" to the world when it comes to the indisputable power of God.
The sad truth that we see today however is that the Church is quite content in its powerless state. Oh sure, there is much "talk" about the power of God however, it is always in abstract terms like those the apostle Paul warned of:
They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! [2 Timothy 3.5]
In fact, in the context of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters five through seven, we also find these less-than-settling words:
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.13-14]
In light of all this, is it any wonder that Jesus began His famous Sermon on the Mount with these words about how we "see" ourselves?
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. [Matthew 5.3]
We simply must have the will to see our present condition - our inherent need for God. Idols blind us to this fact - the more we look to them, the less we see God.
How do YOU "see it"?
Father, You have NEVER been vague regarding what we "see." You have NEVER been unclear about where we place our trust. You have been nothing less than demanding that we trust ONLY You. May we be found giving up our own way (all the man-made things we trust in), taking up our cross (giving up our own way to the point of reckless abandon), and following Jesus so closely that our lives are one with His. So be it.
