33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
LORD, let me be a candle here in my home! May I be a bright and shining light to my husband and children by being positive, by praising, by serving my husband once again with the strength that You supply, by surrendering to You by being surrendered to HIM. May I find JOY in reverencing You, by reverencing Him.
34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
LORD, I give off "spiritual light", YOUR light, when I am no longer spiritually blind...when my eyes have been opened...when I have been given spiritual SIGHT.
But..."The light of the body is the eye." Are you saying, Lord, that the dimness or brightness of my "candle" is gauged by what kind of "eye" I have?...There are two kinds of eyes - a single eye and an evil eye.
Lord, You said, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, coveteousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."
Lord, what is an evil eye? Deut. 28:54ff says that those with an evil eye will eat their loved ones. They are concerned only for themselves. Prov. 23:6-7 says that one with an evil eye says, "Eat and drink...but his heart is not with thee." He has no love for others really; he is concerned only about himself. In Mt. 20:15, the one with the evil eye is jealous, selfish, and concerned about himself.
So the evil eye must be the BIG "I" and "SELF" of ones' heart and DUPLICITY (the hypocritical deception of seeming to love God and others but in reality caring only for SELF.) SINGLENESS of heart is freedom from this duplicity. To have a SINGLE EYE is to be "abandoned to Christ" - being entirely HIS - being fully surrendered to Him in relationship to others with RIGHT ATTITUDES. Surely the HEART is what You are talking about here - HEART ATTITUDES. Wow! I need to think about this - especially the "attitude of reverence"!
What does it mean to reverence my husband? It means fear! It means that I should be AFRAID not to obey him (because God says I should obey).....afraid not to support him in his ideas (even if they might seem hurtful or unwise)...AFRAID to try to run the "show" here...Afraid to take matters into my own hands.The dictionary says that reverence is a "feeling of deep respect, love, and awe."
But Lord, HOW can I have a deep respect for him when I don't feel it at times? Thinking that his ideas are wonderful is sometimes hard to do. :) But having reverence for him is Your Command, isn't it? Maybe reverence is like love. We are commanded to DO IT by our actions and our words, and the "feelings" will follow. Yes, that must be it! :)
If I KNOW that what he decides is really what YOU DECIDE and want for us, THEN I can reverence him. You are a sovereign God, and You will work through his decisions (and even his mistakes) for MY GOOD!
So...even if some of his decisions in my mind seem unwise, I must remember Phil. 2:3b-"...but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other BETTER than themselves." Thinking my ideas are best is only a matter of pride, and I must remind myself of the bad effects that have taken place in the long run in some of my children's lives because of my pride. And I must remember some of the "good effects" because I "let go". Even though some of his decisions seem unwise, just as Abraham's was, surely You will protect us just as You protected Sarah IF I reverence Him. And it's possible that You will even change his mind. :) Really it is all a matter of FAITH IN YOU!
Lord, give me a deep respect for my husband! Let me KNOW that you are guiding him in his decisions for our family. Let me KNOW that we are ultimately "protected" as long as I trust in You by trusting HIM. Amen!
Back to the verse...If my eye is single towards You, (if my attitudes are right), then my whole body will be full of light. (I will be full of the Holy Spirit of God.) Only then...
Also, I wonder if this verse has anything to do with Oswald Chambers words? He says, "The tiniest thing we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit (i.e. wrong attitudes) is quite sufficient to account for spiritual muddle, and all the thinking we like to spend on it will never make it clear. Spiritual muddle is only made plain by obedience. Immediately we obey, we discern (i.e. when the eye is single, the body is full of light)...When the natural power of VISION is devoted to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the power of perceiving God's will and the whole life is kept in SIMPLICITY." (parentheses and emphasis mine)
LORD, when I asked my husband about the "evil eye", he implied that a man with an "evil eye" will respond wickedly in his heart when he sees something. If he sees a beautiful lady, his heart will respond with lust; if he sees a $100 bill lying on the ground, his heart will respond with coveteousness; if he sees a famous person being honored, his heart will respond with envy. It all boils down to SELFishness. It reminds me of the verse in II Pet. 2:14-"Having eyes full of ADULTERY, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an HEART they have exercised with coveteous practices, cursed children."
When the eye is evil - when the heart is wrong, the whole body is full of darkness. The whole man is full of sin until God gives him a new heart, a "SINGLE EYE" - a surrendered life!
This reminds reminds me of Al Martin's two little booklets and Your words in Jer. 24:7-"And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."
Yes, You have done this for me, and I give thanks! But Lord, I find that the whole of the Christian life is a constant "battle" for surrender. It's a continual struggle to have right attitudes that only the Spirit within me can win. I guess that's why You said,
35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.
I know I have light because of the "Great Exchange" has taken place. (My sin on Christ - His righteousness on me) (Term coined by Dr. John Piper) You have saved me! I delight in Your Word and in communion with You, and You have given me a surrendered heart. BUT...when I don't continually STAY fully surrendered with right attitudes at all times, the light within me becomes darkness, especially to my husband and children. And if my attitudes are wrong towards my dear husband, my children do not hear a word I say!
36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give light.
If the WHOLE body is FULL of LIGHT, having no part dark, (no bad attitudes), then my candle will not FLICKER. It will be a candle shining brightly for my children!
Ah, Lord, You close here with the positive, and I have a promise from Your Word which gives me encouragement and HOPE from Ps. 18:28 - "For THOU wilt light my candle: the LORD my God WILL enlighten my darkness! " Amen!
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