Great Plains Daily Devotional for 6/7/2020

Matthew 6:22-23

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

It was a good thing that I grabbed some “Kids” version of sunscreen yesterday because about the time I thought I was being so careful, my hand involuntarily twitched and I got some in my eye. My vision was blurry but is okay. I want to see well and don’t want to miss what God has for me to see, hear and do as I listen for His leading, as I open His word and greet and serve His created ones.

“Blurry vision” is nothing new for me: between the allergies and the floaties, the aging eyes and the slowly growing cataracts. However, there is a different kind of vision that Jesus addresses in this passage from Matthew 6. It is a matter of our “spiritual vision” that keeps our souls in right relationships with God through our faith and obedience. Our spiritual vision gains clarity rather than losing it, as we keep eyes focused on Jesus, and keep traveling toward the heavenly Kingdom through love of God and love of Neighbor.

That means we need to be able to control the focus of our eyes—to keep them looking toward Jesus-His teachings, and His way of living to please God the Father, that we can live into Paul’s words:
          “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

“Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8, 9

Before we think we our “vision” is just fine and we are seeing clearly, let us make sure that our eyes are full of the Light of the World (Jesus). Before we promote something at the “coffee shop” in our conversations, on the signs we hold, or on social media let us check to see if what we are saying or agreeing with aligns with what we read in the truth of God’s Word. Let’s stop and ask ourselves, what is truly behind the scenes of what others are doing, saying, and asking us to buy into?

Let us ask: what are the “dark floaties” in my life that block out the Light of Christ from my good vision? What makes my vision “blurry” in regard to this group or that situation? What does God’s word say that sheds Light on this? Is my spiritual vision clear enough that I know what I believe and for which I am willing to fight?

Satan our enemy dresses up as an “angel of light” hoping he can deceive many people. We need God’s spirit, the armor of God and a heavenly wisdom and discernment to perceive the truth, as we research, as we double check the stories we hear, as we choose what to promote with our friends and acquaintances, with our time, our “emotional investment” and our money.

Prayer for Reflection

Genesis 1:1-2,4a
Psalm 8
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Matthew 28:16-20