How’s Your Vision?
May 31 2024 - Eric Buresh
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)
About half-way through the greatest sermon ever delivered, Jesus’ sermon on the mount, Christ drops this little gem about the good eye and the bad eye. Right before it, Jesus instructs us to lay up treasures in heaven instead of treasures on earth. Right after it, Jesus teaches us to not be anxious about earthly needs, but instead to seek first the kingdom of God. Jesus is imploring us to assess our vision, our focus, our perspective – are we seeing reality clearly? But even further, recognizing we exist in two simultaneous realities, is our greater allegiance to the temporal (our temporary existence in time) or the eternal (our permanent existence outside of time)?
When Jesus instructs us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), He issues a clarion call to prioritize divine perspective above worldly pursuits. This injunction serves as a linchpin in our spiritual journey, redirecting our focus from the transient allurements and concerns of this world to the enduring treasures and confidence of heaven.
In contrast, the "bad eye" represents a distorted vision, characterized by a fixation on selfish desires and material gain. It reflects a heart ensnared by the temporary world, where every pursuit is governed by some version of self-interest rather than divine obedience. The individual with a "bad eye" prioritizes temporal treasures or concerns over the eternal kingdom, relegating spiritual pursuits to a secondary role on the periphery of their existence. In essence, the "bad eye" impedes our desire and even our ability to seek first the kingdom of God by diverting our gaze towards earthly treasures or concerns. Thus, the relationship between the "bad eye" and the “good eye” emerges as a dichotomy of opposing allegiances.
However, the relationship between these two concepts in a believer is not merely one of fixed opposition but also of gradual transformation by the Holy Spirit. As we heed the call to seek first the kingdom of God, God progressively clarifies our sight, and the scales of spiritual blindness fall away over time. The "bad eye" is replaced by a single-minded devotion to Christ as we increasingly surrender to His lordship and our allegiance to the eternal perspective becomes ever more unwavering. Seeking first the kingdom of God becomes both the effective antidote to the "bad eye" and the ultimate culmination of our spiritual growth. This is the process by which believers are liberated from the shackles of worldly desires and empowered to pursue the transcendent realities of God's kingdom. The progression is a life-long walk in one direction, namely, along the path of dependent obedience, following the Good Shepherd.
As disciples, let us increasingly surrender our hearts to the reign of God so that the "bad eye" is vanquished, and the radiant splendor of His kingdom shines ever more brightly in our hearts, guiding our souls ever closer to the pinnacle of His divine glory.