C2J Weekly: "Closed Eyes, Part 1"

This is the second of a twelve-part series, "His Eyes." In this series, I'll be observing how our eyes seem to respond to the light and perhaps we may be able to get a better idea of how they should work. It is my hope that with His eyes, we will be able to see the path on which we run, thereby learning how to effectively run this race.

Matthew West sings this song titled, "My Own Little World." In it, he tells this story of a person who has the comforts of the world, but cannot see the other people in the world. For the brethren, the ability to see the world exists because we have the Son to light our path. Yet for some reason, we close our eyes to the world around. We deceive ourselves by looking at the pain, saying it's a shame, then moving on to the next game. We step back into a shadow of who we were, stopped by an obstacle from our past, unable to progress because it seems either unbeatable or to painful to endure. This is not the type of spirit we were given.
For us, we know that the others do not even have the ability to see, yet we surrender our own ability to see, for what? A moment of acceptance by the blind or a false sense of security? The rationalization to close your eyes out of fear despite the fact that He has created a beautiful array of light for us to simply sit in is quite absurd. For if you close your eyes, not only will you miss the suffering that you are still effected by, but you will deprive yourself of fully receiving the overwhelming beauty He has placed before us.
However, the option to open our eyes exists. Though it may be easier to close our eyes, to ignore the world's issues and pretend like everything is alright, we must choose to open our eyes, see the blind and ask our Lord to heal them. If we fail to do so, it will become impossible to run this race, because we will loose our sense of direction. Our focus will shift off the prize and onto an inferior substitute that does not satisfy. Yet when we ask for His eyes and allow Him to move through us, He will be faithful to return the wasted years, give to us what we could never acquire on our own, and they will be like a coach that encourages us to keep going in those times that we feel like we cannot move another step in this life.
So as a believer, it is not only in your power to open your closed eyes, but also see the beauty He has presented right in front of you. So don't use the blind eyes of your past, but take for yourselves the eyes He gave you, fashioned with His hands and purchased for you through His blood. It is my exhortation to you, that though the world may be filled with pain, you will open your eyes, take in the beauty of His world and allow the Father of lights to use you in a miraculous way for the kingdom.
Thought: In spiritual warfare, if the enemy cannot keep you from having the ability to see, then he will gladly settle for your inability to act on what you can open your eyes to.