Give Me Your Eyes

Time for another song.

This was us before Jesus came into our lives:

" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'

¹⁰ Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:9,10

Then Jesus came into our lives and opened our eyes and ears, but really, how open are they?

"Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." John 9:39

Some of us have not come into our eyes and ears yet. Some of us are still so focused on the inside and what is going on inside that we are blind to what is going around us. We are deaf to all the people around us whose souls are crying out for help. We don't hear them and we don't see them, we're so focused on our selves.

And it's so easy to do that. *Smile* I myself am a home-body. I love being at home, and while I am not a fan of winter, I love that winter weather keeps me at home. Given the right set of circumstances, I could very easily be that little hermit who never comes out of her shell. And I'll tell you, sometimes the very last thing I want to do is start up a conversation with a neighbor. I like my peace and quiet! But I do start up those conversations. Because my eyes and ears have been opened and I know that my neighbors need God, and I can't be an example for Him if I shut myself in my little bubble and never come out. It's hard sometimes- it can be hard enough talking to someone I know, let alone a complete stranger.

I remember when I was young going for a walk with my mom, and she would always (always!) smile and say hi to people when we passed them. That must have made some kind of impression on me, because it wasn't that long ago that I was on my own walk with my kids and it was amazing how many people would just walk on by without so much as a glance in our direction. We were on the same piece of sidewalk and they would just go on about their business. Really? We can't even smile and say hi anymore? Now, I can see where being on the busy streets of a major city that might not be such a practical idea, but this is small town America, and people have forgotten how to simply say hi. Even at the grocery store, you go to check out and they just start doing their work, checking your stuff, not everyone greets you.

I guess it has to start with that greeting- a simple hi or hello. We hear mention every once in a while about street evangelism and witnessing, and I cannot imagine how hard that must be in a world where people don't even say hi! It seems to me that in order to get to that point, you need to start somewhere, and you start by saying hi. And as you pass the same people day after day, you start to add a little more "Good to see you," or "beautiful day isn't it?" And maybe that will open up to more conversations down the road. But we have to start somewhere, and we can't do it alone. So today's song is more than appropriate as Brandon Heath sings "give me your eyes so I can see." What don't we see as we're out and about? I want my eyes to be opened. I can't share my Jesus if I can't see who to share with.