My thoughts today … reflect a conversation a few years ago with my dear friend Mary. Moments spent with her are always
insightful and deeply joyful. At the same time, she is always overflowing with gratitude
and love whenever she offers reflections about her precious Savior. These thoughts are from one of those
wonderful conversations, as Mary talked about truly gazing into the eyes of her Savior.
“So all of us who have had that veil
removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the
Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious
image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT).
As we look at our Savior, do we glance
at Him casually as if to acknowledge Him but never to involve Him in our daily
life or do we gaze at Him?
A glance is something that we can dismiss with little hesitation or remembrance.
A passing glance has little significance in our thoughts or very little
influence as the minutes and hours go by.
Sure for momentary time, we may smile or find some joy in the glance but
we do not carry much of the glance with us throughout the day. To glance is to see something but to let all
other matters take away any attention one might give to what was seen. Many people just glance at our Savior. They look to Him for salvation, but little
else. There is no lingering fellowship or
no desire to be with Him, intent on drawing from Him living water or the bread
that is life.
A gaze is much different from a
glance. To gaze means to linger,
oblivious to all other matters. Attention
is focused on the object of the gaze. To gaze is to appreciate, to reflect
deeply and set aside all other momentary concerns. The veil of self-centered attention and blindness lifts
as something of greater significance is appreciated by the attentive gaze. To gaze at our Savior is to see His victorious glory as the King of Kings, to see His sacrifice as the Lamb of God and to see all of His concern for us as our Good Shepherd. To gaze at the Savior means a yearning to receive from Him the release that He brings from all bondage, the insight
from all blindness and the freedom and peace He brings from all heartache and
oppression. As you gaze into the Savior’s
eyes, everything fades away as your only desire is for the water and bread that
only He can give. It is the setting
aside of all concerns as we gaze upon Him, desiring
all that He gives. May our eyes expectantly and contently gaze upon our Savior all of our days.
‘“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty those who are oppressed, to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it
back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were
fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18-21 ESV).
Suggested Bible Reading ... 2 Corinthians 3
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