Thought for Today
Genesis 29:17 Leah's eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful.
Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Mark 8:18 Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?
Mark 8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Can you see anything?"
In most translations, the adjective in Genesis 29:17, ἀσθενεῖς, is rendered as ‘weak,’ “Leah’s eyes were weak.” My Lexicon does not offer ‘lovely’ as a choice in translating that Greek word. I have long empathized with Leah, because my own eyes have long been weak. Since my 40’s, I have had a condition called presbyopia, literally ‘old eyes.’ Until recently, I have also had cataracts in both eyes. My eyes may never be referred to as ‘lovely,’ but they can no longer be referred to as ‘old.’ Both cataracts have been removed, both eyes have new lenses. In the near future, my ophthalmologist will test my vision and determine whether I will need any glasses at all.
I must confess to being a bit devious through this entire procedure. Both surgeries were performed in Boston. For the first, I asked our daughter to drive us, using my age and Greta’s age as an excuse. For the second, I asked our son to drive us, using the same ploy. In both instances, I could have driven us there and Greta could have driven us home. This way, neither of us had to drive in downtown Boston traffic and we both had an opportunity to enjoy our children’s company. Greta also had them to wait there with her.
Irrespective of who you are, how old you are, what your occupation might be, eyes are important. Vision plays an important role in our lives. Every one of our senses is significant, but some of us might place vision at the top of the list. History and scripture lend credence to that idea. The word ‘eyes’ appears more than 400 times in the Bible.
Two weeks ago and again today, I benefited from some amazing medical technology and medical procedures, many developed during my own lifetime. I do not believe that any treatment or surgery involving our eyes can be considered routine; but, cataract surgery comes pretty close. My first surgery also included a procedure to cure my glaucoma. Hopefully, my presbyopic eyes will soon be ἕτερος, restored to a much new condition.
Medicine and medical treatments in Biblical times were quite different. I’m fairly confident that my doctor never spit into his palm and rubbed the spit on anyone’s eyes An argument could be made that some of the multitude of drops and ‘numbing agents’ put in my eyes this month are salves. Of course, the Bible was never meant to be a medical book. It is the Bible, not a book on recommended medical treatments.
I love the hymn Open My Eyes That I May See, “Open my eyes, that I may see Glimpses of truth You have for me; Place in my hands the wonder key That shall unlock and set me free, Silently now I wait for You, Ready my God, your will to do; Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!” My own personal encounter with Jesus opened my eyes spiritually. Reading the Bible, especially passages like Psalm 121:1-2 above, opened my eyes further. Talented as he is, my ophthalmologist only opened my eyes in terms of earthly, temporal vision. That is certainly important; I am grateful for that restoration of my physical eyes.
I am, and always will be grateful for having my spiritual vision to see and understand those verses I so often cite, John 3:16-17 and Ephesians 2:8. My help in this world and the next “comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” I ‘see’ that because God has opened the eyes of my heart. Paul Balouch wrote a hymn Open the Eyes of MY heart, which begins with, “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord/Open the eyes of my heart/ I want to see You/I want to see You.”
Soon I will see with the eyes in my head and with the eyes of my heart. Our God is truly an awesome God and has worked great miracles. Some wrought by the hands of ophthalmologists. Many wrought by the words of God’s servants. Praise God.
Stay safe, see God, trust God,
Pastor Ray