I recently went to the optometrist to have my eyes checked.  It’s an annual pilgrimage that I take since I fell to the temptation and got glasses in my early 40s.  It irritated me at the time, but I reconciled myself to it when I realized that my arms weren’t growing any longer, so I would have to do something.

The things the eye doctors look for have grown tremendously over the years.  They used to just check your vision and for possible glaucoma.  Now, they can discover so much more about your health by looking at your eyes.  You can find a sizeable list here.  Some of those things are life-threatening, like aneurysms and brain tumors.  So, when my optometrist told me I had the eye health of a much younger person, I was glad.

Of course, there are many, many other ways in which our eyes tell on us.  They betray fear, apprehension, anger, attraction, and curiosity, even when our facial expression indicates otherwise.  Shakespeare famously stated “The eyes are the window to your soul,” and I think he had something there.  Of course, he was talking about something more than our emotions.  Souls are something deeper.

Jesus took a little different point of view on the subject.  Shakespeare (and a whole lot of other folks whose quotes dot the electronic landscape) are focused (pardon the pun) on what people can discover about our souls from our eyes.  Jesus was more concerned about what our eyes can do to our souls.  “The eye is the lamp of the body,” he warns.  He goes on to talk about the impact of good and bad eyes on our entire body (read it here and here).  So, not only do our eyes reflect what is going on inside of us, but what they let in can impact us as well.  While the translation speaks of bodily health, I don’t think it’s a stretch to recognize that Jesus is talking about the health of our soul, too.

Jesus’ concern here is with light – inner and outer light.  I know a lot has been said about the concept of “the light” and how folks seek it, even without Jesus or any divine assistance.  Jesus is warning his listeners that it matters in a soul-oriented sort of way what we see and what we choose to look at.  It’s interesting how our entire culture is so homed in on appearance.  Looking into someone’s eyes goes beyond that surface show to the back-stage activities behind it.  What we allow to come into our eyes influences those internal goings-on.  If it’s light, soul healing occurs.  If it’s darkness, soul pain follows.  And a healthy soul will be reflected in our eyes.  Some have even been described as shining!

I’m really thankful that my eyes are healthy, and that they indicate other healthiness in the rest of my being.  However, I’m now more aware than before that what I read, see, examine, etc. has impact on my soul.  There’s an old computer expression that captures the sense of Jesus’ words well, in my opinion:  Garbage in, garbage out.  If what I allow into my eyes is light, then light will come out.  However, if it’s darkness, my eyes will express it because that’s what’s in my soul.  What goes in, comes out.

It’s time to spend more time looking at the Creator’s handiwork rather than human inventions (like screens, maybe?).  More of God’s words rather than human verbiage.  Heh.  It will be an uphill struggle, but by God’s grace, I know it can be done.

Then my eyes will really have it.  <smile>