When we read the words of the Messiah in the Bible we have to realize what the reality of the situation is. The creator of the universe, in human form, is looking you in the eyes and telling you what life is all about. The more and more I study the word of God, I realize that it is beyond human and that there is something very special about the Bible. With that being said, lets humbly look Him in the eyes and listen to what God has to say to us.
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness" Matthew 6:22-23
What does this mean?
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after reading this one I was looking for some info on the internet on it and came upon this http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2005/1302_What_Is_the_Bad_Eye_in_Matthew_623/
ReplyDeleteits an interesting commentary on the subject and the surrounding context by John Piper
JP, I checked out the website and I totally agree that John Pipers commentary on this verse is spot on. Its the same conclusion I came to in my research.
ReplyDeleteSo basically like any verse in the Bible we run into trouble if we do not read it in context. Moreover, this verse doesn't make much sense when it is taken out of context. One other thing I found that I thought helped was the commentary by Jamieson-Fauseset Brown. Baisicaly, it is important to understand this verse in its original language. In the classical Greek, "the eye is the lamp of the body" is used figuratively to demonstrate the simplicity of the minds eye, singleness of purpose, looking right at its object, as opposed to having two ends in view.
So this is what I have come to understand from your research as well as mine regarding this passage. Where we are looking, or what our purpose is in life has a direct effect on or well-being.
For example, if we live our lives and constantly look to God throughout our day we will be filled with light. On the other hand, if we live our lives and keep our eyes fixed on the things of this world we will be filled with darkness. So the Creator of the world came down to the earth and told us that if we look to Him we will be filled with light and if we look to the world we are headed for darkness.
I can see the evidence for this verse in my own life. With all the distractions of this world like, money, T.V., Movies, Friends, work, the internet; its hard to keep our eyes and our purpose focused on God. And when I am caught up in the things of this world my heart is in the wrong place, and I am not truly happy. At this point I come to realize that it is true life that I am missing out on. So I come running back to Gods word and talk to Him through my day and put my purpose and focus in the only place thats important. When I come running back He doesn't say, "I told you so"; He just fills me with the light, joy, and the peace that surpasses all human understanding. And its at this point, that I know my eyes, heart, and purpose are where they belong; with the Creator.
I enjoy the simpleness and the directness of the analogy in this passage. My understanding of this is that, yes God does make forth a wide path for us. If we look for good on our path, God willing we will find good, and in turn by finding good we become good, filling ourselves with goodness, that which is Godly. However, if you look for that which is dark; fill yourself with thoughts that are dark; then the darkness which you seek becomes you. In essence you move away from god on you own accord by looking for that which is not of the Lord, Light and goodness. I'm reminded of a what my father use to tell me, "It you go looking for trouble, guess what, your gonna find it.
ReplyDeleteI think your right in the fact that we have to choose between light and darkness in our lives. However, I don't really think that God has made a wide path for us. For example, Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14:
ReplyDelete"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
I think these words of the Messiah also help us to understand the passage we are studying. In fact, I'm glad we got lead in this direction and I'm going to post this passage as the next discussion.
I also think that God is the only "good" we could ever find in our lives. In turn, if we are focused on God we have light; if we are not focused on God, we are focused on the world. The bible tells us that when we are focused on the things of the world we are headed for a dead end.
Please let me know what you think. This is a great discussion and thanks for subscribing Mark. You have always been a good friend to me. I hope that you will continue to discuss the word of God with us, because there is nothing more important in life than that. God is real and He is the only place that we can find life.
Make sure you check out the story of John Griffith on my thoughts blog and let me know what you think.