He Sees All Through His Eyes
- Eyes can be piercing blue.
- Eyes can be a brooding brown.
- Eyes can be an envious green.
- Eyes can be a haunting hazel, or even a deep, dark, almost black.
Truly our eyes are an important part of us, and this might, in fact, be the first body part one notices when encountering another person face-to-face. We meet another, look him in the eye, maybe touch by shaking hands, and even begin a conversation, hearing the lilt of the other’s voice. Then, as we turn to walk away, will we recall the person? Will we remember MOST the sound of their voice, the touch of their skin against ours, or the “look” of their eyes? For many, the look of the eyes will remain long after the conversation has ended.
For thirty years, I have served as an educator, talking with hundreds, maybe thousands of students during the past semesters of class. We have talked together during class, on the cross-country courses, in the hallways, on the sidewalks across campus, on the ball fields, and even off-campus, whenever we meet at the stores, restaurants, or at church. For years, I have attempted to remember student names, sometimes recalling names when we have met years after class but other times forgetting their names whenever our paths crossed later in life. However, one fact remains. Their eyes have stayed with me long after they are gone from my daily path. My mother, who served 20+ years as a school bus driver makes the same claim. So, this makes me ask: What is it about a person’s eyes that stay with us? Oftentimes, we have heard how one’s eyes reveal the innermost parts of one’s soul. Maybe that’s the reason why. Physicians tell us that our eyes are the size they will become when we are born, so when we look at a baby, we often notice their eyes first. This is true of our grandson, who sports the prettiest blue eyes. Furthermore, we are given the opportunity to give away our eyes (and other essential organs) to another living soul, when our days are finished here on earth. That was true for my dad, when he was suddenly killed in a tragic farming accident. My mother donated his eyes to science, giving them to someone who needed the blessing of sight. This has always brought me joy, knowing that somewhere, someone in the world is seeing with my father’s beautiful, blue eyes.
So, this makes us wonder what it would be like to look into the eyes of Jesus. Just imagine what that moment will be like—when we see Jesus looking back at us.
In the Bible, the apostle John writes the vision, the revelation, the Lord provided.
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
(The Revelation to John 1: 12-15 NASB)
His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow;
and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace,
and His voice was like the sound of many waters.”
Let’s focus for a moment on this part of the Scripture: “and His eyes were like a flame of fire.”
When we read in God’s Word about those who walked and talked with Jesus during His time on earth, we read the accounts of how the Lord encountered each of them. I heard this week in chapel, reminding me that when God walked as the Son of man on earth, Jesus walked with people, spoke directly with individuals, and looked them in the eye.
Let’s consider what the Lord shows us through His eyes.
We are reminded how God sees and knows all. He sees everything that is happening everywhere across the face of the world. He sees and knows the interior of every person’s heart.
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare
(The Letter to the Hebrews 4:13 NASB)
to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
So, what should be our response?
- Pour out your heart.
- Boldly approach the throne of God.
- Trust Him, for He will hear your prayer, and He will respond.
In God’s Word, we are reminded how Jesus was grieved with “their hardness of heart,” and how Christ Jesus looks with grief upon those who choose to remain lost. The Bible tells us over and over how Jesus came to save the lost, how He gave His life on Calvary’s Cross, making The Way possible to know God. We are soon to celebrate Resurrection Sunday (Easter), praising the risen Savior, who offers salvation to all who will believe on Jesus, the Son of God.
So, again, we ask: What should be our response?
Know the truth that Jesus knows exactly where you stand within your faith. He knows if you remain lost or if you have been found. He knows your heart. He sees your deeds. He knows your thoughts. He sees your life, even when you were placed in your mother’s womb, even before you took your first breath on earth. Therefore, our response to Jesus needs to be one of acceptance to His love, for His eyes demonstrate how He continually looks with LOVE toward us, His creation.
In the Bible, we are reminded how Jesus looked on the rich young ruler who had kept all the commandments. Jesus knew the truth about this young man, and even so:
“Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him . . . .”
(The Gospel According to Mark 10:21a NASB)
Thus, in closing, we are also reminded how Jesus reacted with love when Peter openly denied knowing Jesus.
“After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.”
(The Gospel According to Luke 22: 59-62 NASB)
But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
The Lord turned and looked at Peter.
And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him,
“Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
And [Peter] he went out and wept bitterly.”
- The One who saved us also loves us with unfailing LOVE.
- The Lord understands our weaknesses, and yet, the Savior LOVES us far beyond the end.
Just as that day, there will come a day when we will see Jesus, every one of us, face-to-face. There will come a day when we will see Jesus, and we will look Him in the eye. Consider TODAY what we are to do with Jesus. “His eyes were like a flame of [consuming] fire.” (The Revelation to John 1: 14b NASB)