Keep Looking!

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18

I was 10 years old and on my way to California with my parents and brother the first time I saw a mirage. It looked like a lake in the desert, but as real as it looked it was not there. That was the first time I remember becoming aware of the untrustworthiness of the “seeing is believing” saying. Just because my eyes can see a thing does not mean that it is real.

It is also true that not being able to see something does not mean that it is not really there. Who can see a radio wave or even the wind? You can see the dirt or leaves that the wind is carrying along with it, but the wind itself cannot be seen.

My physical eyes cannot see those things that are eternal. Trying to see the eternal with my physical eyes is like a man sitting and staring at a radio tower hoping to catch a glimpse of the radio program as it leaves the tower. It simply is not going to happen.

But when I fix the eyes of my heart on Jesus I can see wonderful things. Instead of a wicked and evil world which is hell bent on self destruction I see a world full of people who are the focus of God’s heart and love. Instead of despair I see hope. Instead of death I see life. When I look at that which is eternal I see the top of the woven rug instead of the bottom which makes no sense.

The “sleight of hand” artist becomes expert in getting you to focus on one hand while he does something with the other one, which he doesn’t want you to see. When you focus on the temporary things of this world you cannot see the eternal. When you focus on the eternal then you are not threatened and confused by the temporary.

Lord, show me today the mirages in my life. Help me to know the difference between the truth and those things that simply claim to be true but are not.

My mother always taught me that it is not polite to stare at someone. When I stare at someone I look, keep looking and never turn my eyes away. It may not be polite to stare at anyone else, but with the eyes of my heart I must stare at Jesus and the things that are eternal.

Look, keep looking and never turn the eyes of your heart away from Jesus!