What are you looking at?

In Luke 11:33-36, Jesus describes a key component to living a radiant and fruitful life. It all starts with what we are looking at...

Yeah, I'm talking to you! I'm asking you the same question Jesus asks each of us in Luke 11:33 - 36. Let's hear Him out:

"No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, it is put on a lampstand to give light to all who enter the room. Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you."

Jesus is the Light of the World. He gives light to all who enter a personal relationship with Him. He gives light to all who walk with Him. How does that happen? Jesus tells us that our "eye" is a lamp for our entire body. Now I like to think about this lamp as more of a "lens" for our entire body. It is a lens that can reflect the light of Christ into our dark souls to give us direction, peace, purpose, conviction, purity, etc... But we have to decide how to use this lense of ours. So, is Jesus talking about the physical lenses of our eyes? No, I think He is talking about our spirit or will here.

Does your will let Jesus into your life to illuminate every dark corner of your life? I think that's the crux of what Jesus is asking us here. Some of us are really good at having our will shut out this Light when it gets too close to certain dark corners of our lives. Others of us are really good at convincing ourselves that what we are looking at is the Light of Jesus, but Jesus says we might actually be looking at darkness instead. That's kind of scary...so we should evaluate and make sure it isn't really darkness, as Jesus cautions us.

Let me close my thoughts here today with stating the converse of what Christ said in the verse 36.

If your whole life is not radiant, as though the floodlight is shining on you, then you must have dark corners, and you are not filled with the light of Christ.

Ouch -- that kind of stings a little. If any of that is remotely true in your life, it makes we wonder what your looking at.