GOD IS LIGHT

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5)

Devotion 17 of 22

THE EYES OF YOUR HEART ENLIGHTENED

" . . . that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, THE EYES OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING [heart, NASB] . . . " (Eph 1:17-18, NKJV)

This is a most unusual expression, and is profound, challenging our minds. It reveals something of the inadequacy of human understanding, which has been significantly weakened by sin. Every aspect of the rational part of our makeup has been blasted by transgression. Of themselves, our intellect and will are not sufficient to take hold of what the Lord wants us to see. The darkness of nature is too thick, requiring light from above--enlightenment.

The KJV, NKJV, Websters, and Young's Literal, translate the phrase, "the eyes of your understanding." Without going into the etymological variations in these translations, there is no essential difference between "understanding" and "heart." The word "heart" describes the deepest capacity of man for perception. The word "understanding" emphasizes what proceeds from this deeper part of man. The point is that men can be brought to understand something beyond the circumference of natural intellect. It is something like KNOWING "the love of Christ which PASSES all knowledge" (Eph 3:19).

It is the "heart" that needs to be illuminated--that requires exposure to the God of all light. This is the seat of the understanding, not understanding itself. There is a phrase in the Song of Solomon that aptly describes the separation of the heart from the mind. "I sleep, but my heart waketh" (Song of Sol 5:2). Though somewhat mysterious to the natural mind, the heart can be productive while natural capacities slumber. This is one of the ways we can be instructed "in the night seasons (Psa 16:70.

Sin brought a film of obscurement over our hearts. Consequently, it is possible for the intellect to be very productive, while the heart is dull and obtuse. The first and great commandment requires that we love God with both "heart" and "mind" (Mark 12:30)--and the "heart" is mentioned first! Without the enlightenment of the heart, the mind will yield no benefits that give eternal advantage.

Intellectual clarity is imperative if we are going to do a work for God, but warm hearts are even more necessary. There have been many souls, with the eyes of their heart opened by the Lord, who worked mightily for God, while their intellect lagged behind! But there has never been a person used mightily of God whose intellect, though superior, was attended by a cold and undiscerning heart. The Pharisees and Sadducees are an epitaph to the futility of an emphasis upon the intellect. It is the heart that must be illuminated. Once illumined, it will compel the intellect to come along, yielding great benefit.

If there is a single deficiency in our churches, it is the absence of "heart." The lack of interest, zeal, commitment, and service, gives indication that hearts are blind. How we must fervently pray for God to "open the eyes" of men's "hearts," or "understanding."

PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus Christ, help me to possess discernment and understanding in the deepest part of my being.

-- Tomorrow: SO YOU MAY KNOW --