Saturday, May 2, 2009

In Your Eyes



In the mornings at my job at Intervarsity Press I work in a room where, adjacent to the windows is the sidewalk that leads to doggie dog paradise, the park. I already have down pat which dog follows the next:2 terriers in sweaters(aw,how cute), then the schnauzer, then the white bulldog who loves to roll in the grass, then comes the big dogs, the retriever and the boxer.

A couple of weeks ago I saw "Marley and Me" even after being warned of it's painful ending. It wasn't quite as painful as Old Yeller, but yes, it got me good. The movie is based on the books of the same name,the true story of a dog with reckless abandon and the family who owned him. In the end, with the dog lying on the vet's table ready to take his last breaths, the director has the camera concentrating on the dog's eyes. You not only see the old age in his eyes, but learn from his owner that he lived as long and rich a life as a dog could. So lately I've been taking in a more visual glance at the eyes of the dogs I cross paths with day to day. It's funny that you can instantly tell an old dog just by looking at his eyes.

When people look into your eyes, what do they see? Do they see wisdom and understanding? Old, tired eyes? Honesty? Love? More importantly, do they see Christ?

How do we perceive ourselves when we look in the mirror? It is only natural for each of us to first look for our imperfections: blemishes, tangled hair, sideburns even, are my eyebrows okay?

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. (James 1:23,24)

What we need to do is see ourselves as God sees us, not for our imperfections, but for the perfections of Christ that are within us. And to see ourselves that way throughout each and every day.

So, what do you see in your eyes?

















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