[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Monday March 26, 2007

[Barry Ludwig]

Daily Devotion Monday March 26, 2007

As a pastor, I walk the hallways of local hospitals on a regular basis. In
the last years, I have been fascinated by the type of eye contact (or lack
thereof) that takes place as I pass people in those hallways of joy and
sorrow. I have begun to categorize different  types of "eyes."

 

Matthew 26:43 - Heavy Eyes

"And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy."

 

     His eyes are downcast as he passes me. Is he a medical professional who
has just announced terminally bad news to a patient and family? Is angry at
or offended by my clergy collar? Perhaps he is dealing with personal
problems in his own life and is weighed down by the cares of this world?
Maybe he is just plain shy and socially awkward?

     In a split second I must decide whether to look away and spare him the
invasive inquiry of my own eyes or to look at him in a way that might invite
a nod of the head or even a smile.  My mother taught me that it is impolite
to stare at people, but now I wonder if it more impolite to fail to pay
attention to the one with "heavy eyes." Should we not as the people of God
in Jesus Christ, at least acknowledge the other person and in so doing, let
our uplifted eyes tell them they matter and have significance? If I am to
err, should it not be on the side of good intention rather than fear of
being socially correct?

     When our eyes are heavy, Jesus comes to us to lift our sight to see
that in the middle of bad news or uncertain times we are not alone. We are
loved by a God who has set his eyes upon us before we were born and has
redeemed us to be a light to those around us with heavy eyes.

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://zlc-aa.org/pipermail/dailydevo_zlc-aa.org/attachments/20070326/c6cbbad9/attachment.html