Seeing with the Heart
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1: 18 - 21 (NIV)
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Message: Seeing with the Heart
Eyes of the Heart?
The translation of “eyes of the heart” is a direct translation from the Greek - word for word: ophthalmos tes kardias
A more contextual translation would be spiritual eyes
Meaning seeing the spiritual side of life
Paul prays for the enlightenment of the eyes of our hearts
He prays, because this enlightenment only comes from God
We need God to open the eyes of our heart
We need God to show us the spiritual dimension of life
Just listen to the langauge Paul uses:
to know the hope to which you have been called
To know the riches of his glorious inheritance
Incomprably great power for us who believe
Receiving the mighty strength that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of God
So what does the enlightenment of the eyes of our heart look like today?
It means that we are able to see the world around us in a different way
Let’s reflect on what that might look like…
Peace
Firstly, to know that the source of our enlightenment is God is a source of peace
The wisdom and insights come from God who is the creator of all
We find peace in the knowledge God is in control of what happens in this world
Even in moments when we feel that the world is getting out of hand…
Opened eyes of the heart knows that there is a creator God who is in control of the world
Opened eyes of the heart knows that we have a Savior who came into this world to defeat death
Opened eyes of the heart knows that our faith is a living faith, because our Lord is Risen
Whenever we feel fear or worry, we are able to turn to God
That brings an indescribable peace over us
Opened eyes of the heart brings peace
See past the shadows - optimism
We are also able to perceive our surroundings in a different way
Where others see darkness, we see light
Where others see death, we see life
Where others see fear, we see faith
Opened eyes of the heart are able to see world around us in a different way
When we are faced with the challenges of this world, we can pray that God help us to see the world in a different way
We can ask God to help us get over the negative
Enlightenement from God means a special type of optimism
See God’s image in people
Opened eyes of the heart aslo affects the way we see people
We are able to see the image of God in every person we encounter when God openes our spiritual eyes
Yes, even that person who makes your world difficult bears the image of God
Even the person who is different from you bears the image of God
The person who you disagree with bears the image of God
Maybe we can extend the prayer of Paul by asking God help us see his image in the people we encounter:
Open the eyes of my heart so that I may see your image, o God!
Perceive what is important
The enlightenment of the eyes of our heart also helps us to see what is truly important in life
It helps us with discernment
We can never think that we have all the answers
We will always fall short in our understanding of the world around us
Instead we can choose to humble ourselves and admit that we need God’s wisdom in this life
When we make decisions, we can’t just rely on our own abilities
We need God to make better decisions in life
We need God to open the eyes of our heart to see what we need to see in order to make better decisions!
Let us not forget how much we need God to find what is truly important in life
Courage of conviction - forward in faith
Only with eyes of heart that are enlightened by God, will we be able to live lives of faith
We need God to go forward in faith
We need God to show us more of life than just what is in front of us
We need God to change the convicitons of our hearts, because on our own, we will fail at life
We need God to give us courage to live our lives in accordance with the convictions of our hearts
May God enlighten the eyes of our hearts!
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