33"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." Luke 11:33-36 (NIV)
One of the pastors at our church, Jeff, shared a message this past Sunday, titled "Staying Focused," that really spoke to me. It is so easy to lose focus on what is truly important, to get distracted, overwhelmed, and, consequently, sometimes attacked.
One portion of the sermon that I was captured by was verse 34 (Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.) The Greek word haplous, translated "good," means "single, simple, sincere."
Literally, this verse is encouraging us to focus single-mindedly on Christ!
Healthy, focused spiritual eyes allow the full light of Christ to flood into us!
Jeff always has some of the most amusing, but perfectly fitting, stories to illustrate his sermons. He told stories of Christian haunted houses he and some of his youth group buddies used to create at Halloween ("to scare people into Heaven"). One year, they decided to make it exceptionally scary by creating a haunted trail through the woods on a family friend's land. So, they spent weeks constructing the trail and putting together dark costumes to wear. However, their best plans for a haunting experience were dashed when they received 3 inches of snow on Halloween and discovered they'd forgotten to consult the lunar calendar -- full moon, too! He said you could see them in their black, now not-so-scary costumes from a hundred yards away, running across the snow under a full moon! :o)
If we hide parts of our life in dark corners, not allowing the light of Jesus to illuminate them, it is easy for Satan to sneak up and attack.
However, if we are single-mindedly focused, our lives will be full of light and will make it much more difficult for Satan to attack us!
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2 comments:
Thank you so much for sharing, Mischelle! I've been a bit overwhelmed lately and this really spoke to me about my focus. I'll have to meditate on this some more.
Wow! I was not there and I really wish I would have been!
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