Fresh Eyes

Luke 24:16 – But their eyes were held that they should not know Him.

    This incident takes place shortly after the resurrection of Jesus. Two of His followers encountered Jesus as they were on the road to another town, but they did not recognize Him. They walked together and talked of the events of the previous few days and all the while they still did not realize that it was Jesus who was speaking with them.

    This phrase, ‘their eyes were held’, is a figure of speech which is very instructive. Did God hold their eyes from seeing Jesus? It certainly is possible for he has done it before. I remember reading an account of people who were smuggling Bibles into a country where Christianity was outlawed. The border guards opened their luggage and even looked directly into the compartment where the Bibles were hidden; they looked right at the Bibles but did not see them; apparently, God held their eyes.

    Another way of looking at this is to consider that we are the ones who close our own eyes. The original writings tell us that their eyes were held, that is they were fixed or seized. Something had previously captured their attention. They had just recently watched as Jesus was brutally tortured and crucified. They watched Him die, they saw Him buried, and now their eyes were fixated on that and unable to see anything else.

    How many times has this happened to us? Something terrible happens to us and it makes a deep impression on our minds and from that point on we are not able to see anything but that incident. We might have lost a loved-one; can we see ourselves being happy again? We might have experienced a financial crisis; can we see ourselves recovering from it? We might have been betrayed by our spouse; can we see ourselves being able to trust again? We might have failed in ministry; can we see ourselves being used of God again? These things are real and all of us deal with it; we must deal with loss and sorrow for we are the ones who are in charge of our own minds. Can we open up and see again?

    Closed eyes can also imply a hardened heart; a decision to not be open or vulnerable again; a choice to close off the possibility of new and exciting things. If we remain in a seized state, fixated on the past, we can never really know Him; we thus close ourselves off from intimacy with God and others. Closed eyes mean a closed mind; a closed mind means a closed heart; a closed heart means a closed life. Consequently, we shut ourselves away from hope; we lock ourselves behind closed doors in a room with no light, sentencing ourselves to solitary confinement.

    Take courage, friends, we are in this together and our Father God is in the door-opening business. It matters not where we have locked ourselves away, or for how long; He will keep seeking us out and drawing us back until we give Him the key to the door of our life. Hear Him whisper His word to you today, and even though the room may be dark, and your eyes cannot see, we believe it shall be as the Book of Psalms says, ‘Your word is a door that lets in light.’

Follow Him

Matthew 16:24 – Then said Jesus to His disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

    Jesus had just spoken to His disciples about the Cross, foretelling them that He would be killed and rise again the third day. Peter, in fine form, took Jesus aside and rebuked Him because he was convinced that suffering could never be the will of God. Jesus spoke some of His strongest words as He corrected Peter and set him straight. He then issued some tough words to the rest of us.

    If any man will come after me. This phrase answers a lot for me. Is Jesus ahead of me in the direction of my life? If I look at where I am headed, do I see the Lord in front of me? He is Lord. He is in charge. He is supposed to be in front, I am to come after Him. He must always be first, I am always to be after. One day all the universe will clearly see Him for who He is; indeed, every knee shall bow. Wise people practice that now.

    If any man will. Anyone can choose to come and to follow after Him. It is a decision. It is a choice. It is a God-given freedom, and it is mine alone to make. I can choose to put Him first. It is not dictated by my life and circumstances. I can not blame my situation, my work, my family or any other thing. No! Whatever place I am in right now, good or bad, I have the choice to put Him first. Where there is a will there is a way.

    Let him deny himself. To deny is to choose to abstain. I might be denying myself that piece of pie, or denying a purchase, or denying myself the free time that I had set aside for my interests. It can be very hard to deny certain things, but Jesus never said to deny things; He said to deny yourself. My self-life must be denied. I must disown and disavow my self-centered life. Do not misunderstand me. We must take care of ourselves and live a balanced life, but selfishness is never okay. Self-care is good; self-focus is not.

    Take up his cross. There is a popular song that is sung in many churches today, and one phrase of it says gratefully to the Lord, ‘That You would bear my cross’. It is a beautiful song and I enjoy the artist, but that phrase contradicts what Jesus said here. We are to take up our cross. There is a Cross that we could never take up and that is the Cross of Christ. He is the only one who could do that, but there is a personal cross-bearing that must happen in the life of the believer. Now we mustn’t get confused about what it means to take up our cross, because there are many non-scriptural ideas about it. The context would indicate that the cross-bearing we are to experience has to do with putting Him first and self-denial. Luke’s account says we are to do this daily, strongly suggesting that this is a big part of our Christian life.

    Follow me. The good news about all of this is that Jesus is with us; He is right here. He has, by virtue of His Cross, experienced every imaginable hardship and test and come out of it victoriously. He knows. He understands our humanity. He has already provided for every possible contingency. There is nothing coming in our lives that He has not already foreseen and prepared an answer for. Nothing takes Him by surprise. He is for us, He is with us, He is in us. Our part is simply to follow Him.

Beware of Hypocrisy

Luke 12:1, 2 – Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed, neither hid, that shall not be known.

    Jesus gives His disciples a sharp warning to be very cautious and alert regarding the leaven of the Pharisees. Leaven is yeast. It is hidden undetected in the loaf; it penetrates and permeates the dough, thereby thoroughly influencing it. It is hidden, it is unseen, yet it is constantly working. Leaven is like gravity; a silent, unremitting and powerful influence.

    The Pharisees were those who separated themselves from common people and things. They were considered by others to be very spiritual and they were highly regarded. Because of this high regard and the sense of being separate and uncommon, the Pharisees developed a sense of superiority and entitlement. They felt that they had special privileges and they were exempt from the laws that governed common people. They were above the law if you will.

    Hypocrisy is the inevitable posture of spiritual pride. Pride, like leaven, is insidious. Arrogant pride is a terrible thing just simply from a natural standpoint; nobody likes arrogance in others. But religious, or spiritual pride is the highest form of arrogance because it is hidden in actions that appear to be godly and sincere.

    Hypocrisy is a word that comes from the theatre. It refers to the actors, who when wanting to portray a certain character or emotion, would put on a mask. One mask might portray joy, and another might depict sorrow. One mask might represent surprise, and another might illustrate anger. So, hypocrisy is wearing a mask and it has come to stand for ultimate phoniness. If we consistently wear a mask, we have become actors on the stage of life, playing the role of that which we are not. We hide behind the façade of spirituality and godly sincerity.

    With the insight that could only be divine, Jesus has wonderfully warned all of us. He has told us that there is nothing covered, or hidden behind a mask, or otherwise, that shall not be revealed and known. Is it possible that this leaven of hypocrisy has penetrated our Christianity and influenced our lives today? I believe it has and the threat is ongoing and real. Having simply an outward form of religion forces us to wear a mask; we are not able to be ourselves under that system, or way of thinking. Our current culture many times promotes the wearing of a mask because we really might not want people to truly be themselves. The hardship and the hurts of life can also be a factor in the continued use of masks; I’ve been betrayed, who can I trust?

    What masks are we hiding behind? What are we portraying to the world? Are we wearing a mask of a hard-working, tax-paying citizen, all the while murmuring about the boss and the government? Are we wearing a mask of the committed church member and at the same time very upset with the leadership and people of the church? Are we wearing a mask of the happy-go-lucky person while deeply struggling with fear and sadness? I dare say that all of us wear masks to some degree because part of it is a natural reflex and built-in defense system. One writer once wrote that the self that we send out to meet God is almost always a false self. Sometimes we may not even be aware that we are doing these things because we have done it for so long it has become second nature. Some of us might hide behind our books or hard work, or we might throw ourselves into activities that keep us busy; too busy to slow down and get quiet and hear our Father’s voice calling us to Himself.

    Be encouraged, friends, the first step is to be aware of our tendencies and patterns. Then we must gather to ourselves a couple close friends or trusted counselors. Be open, be honest, be free and over time the masks will come off then you, and the rest of the world, will be re-introduced to your true self; the one created in the image of God; a person of great value and unique talents and one who has a beautiful and bright future.

Start at the Beginning

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

    The fear of the Lord is where we are to begin in the learning process; it is foundational to our growth in knowledge. Knowledge is a good thing but, the same knowledge of the atom gives us nuclear energy and nuclear bombs, so our knowledge must be coupled with the fear of the Lord and used appropriately. The book of Hebrews tells us that our God is a consuming fire. Like the sun, which absorbs all that comes close, God consumes all. We should not be afraid of the sun but, be aware of its power and have a deep respect for it. We are not to live in cringing fear that causes us to draw back from God, but we are to live in godly carefulness and reverence. True knowledge begins where the fear of the Lord is known. We must acquaint ourselves first with reverence and deep respect. When we have respect for others it causes us to be cautious about how we speak and deal with people.

The fear of the Lord is where we are to begin in the learning process; it is foundational to our growth in knowledge.

    Fools are those who have a flippant attitude and constantly mock the cautious ones. To despise something is to treat it lightly and without appreciation for its sacredness and true value. A fool is one who is not sharp or aware, but just the opposite; one who is dull and unaware. The fool bumps into everything as he goes and does not make any proactive decisions but only reacts to the circumstances at hand; therefore, his life is in a continual state of chaos. The fool does not value wisdom or instruction, mostly because it would take humility to admit that he needs it. Wisdom is something that is given to us from another; we are not the source of wisdom. Fools are those who are too prideful to realize that they need another’s wisdom and perspective. And no matter how skillfully it is given, fools will always reject correction; they feel they are in no need of it. The fear of the Lord is the answer to all our foolish tendencies.

Wisdom is something that is given to us from another; we are not the source of wisdom.

    The basic condition of all humanity is one of foolishness, for the fool says that there is no need to listen to God. We are born into foolishness, it is bound in the heart of a child and must be removed by correction. Just like an athlete submits to rigorous training so that he can develop and become a champion; we too must submit to the corrective training of God and be schooled into wisdom. It will take time, discipline and consistency, but as we keep walking in the fear and wise reverence of the Lord, the tests of life will start to appear as just that, tests; and tests are made to prove that we have learned and to pass with flying colours.