Wednesday, December 8, 2021

"THE EYES HAVE IT"

 

Dear All of Us,

When it comes to a vote,

"The ayes have it."

When it comes to 

our spiritual living,

"THE EYES HAVE IT"

        

        Truly

"It all depends on how 

 we see things."


Looking at things in 

fear, anger, lust, 

greed, arrogance, 

dims to darkness

how we see and 

what we see.

We stumble 

in that darkness,

limited and limiting,

hurt and hurting,

lost and losing.


Seeing things as 

God sees them,

or if you prefer,

seeing things 

in the light of 

    Reality,

opens our eyes

to the brightness 

and splendor of

 ALL THAT IS

and our oneness 

     in that

       ALL


So how do we 

get our vision 

adjusted and 

corrected to

   20/20


We go deep within.

We open the eyes 

    of our soul

    of our inner awareness.

We see ourselves 

   centered in

      Reality

   centered in 

    Existence

   centered in 

     Being

   centered in

what makes us

   and what 

 makes us go,

  centered in 

   All That Is,

  centered in

      God

  

  So centered

  we see God 

  "..closer to us 

  than we are 

  to ourselves"

  as Augustine reflects.

  Meister Eckhard said that

  between God and the soul

  "...there is neither 

  strangeness nor distance."

  This oneness with and in God

  is affirmed and clarified

  in scripture: 

  "For by these He has granted 

  to us His precious and 

  magnificent promises, 

  so that by them 

  you may become 

  partakers of the divine nature..."

          2 Peter1:4

  "...your life is hidden 

  with Christ in God."

         Collassians 3:3

  In this centered Oneness 

  we see God gazing at us 

  in delight.

  We accept 

  that gaze, 

  that seeing.

  We join it.

  We see as 

  we are seen 

       in 

   The Love 

  Who Is God


This is so clear in

my little grandson.

His parents spend 

lots of attention 

gazing at him in love, 

smiling in delight.

Little as he is, 

he gets it - literally!

He gets their

delighted gaze 

so really that he joins in, 

and all smiles, 

gazes back at them.

It's a mutuality, 

a shared vision,

couple and child,

"a delight to see you"

times two unto

       ONE


At the deepest level,

"THE EYES HAVE IT"


Through Paul we see how 

our eyes open to God 

and God's seeing:

  "We don't yet see things clearly.

   We're squinting in a fog,

   peering through a mist.

   But it won't be long before 

   the weather clears and

   the sun shines bright!

   We'll see it all then, 

   see it all as clearly 

   as God sees us, 

   knowing him directly 

   just as he knows us!

   But for right now, 

   until that completeness,

   we have three things to do 

   to lead us toward 

   that consummation: 

   Trust steadily in God, 

   hope unswervingly, 

   love extravagantly. 

   And the best 

   of the three is love."

1 Corinthians 13: 12-13

     The Message


Living and looking 

    like that

we'll see things 

so wonderfully 

real and right.

We'll progressively 

see as God sees,

sharing God's sight.


That will mean 

we bask secure in

God's delighted gaze 

        at us.

God approved, we are 

self-accepting, delighted.

No need "to act out"

or "act up" trying 

to prove anything 

or get approval. 


Seeing as one with God

we see others, nature, 

all creation, as they are 

in God and in God's sight.

We see them in their 

fundamental freshness,

purity and goodness.


We also see 

evil and perversion 

violating this beautiful creation.

We see people and nature

suffering that.

We see them and other people 

working to right it.

We see them as agents of 

God's redemption and salvation 

- the work of loving recreation.


There's marvelously more to see.

Next week let's look closer 

at seeing as we open wide 

      the aperture 

            of 

        NOTICE


  Our spiritual life is 

  Seeing Eye To Eye,

    Heart to Heart

     God and us,

taking all in together

and seeing all as together.

           Yes,

"THE EYES HAVE IT"

     

Thanks for the chance 

to take this look together.

       John Frank

         ******

       

    Please do invite 

    family, friends, 

    and colleagues 

    to take a look at  

   "frankly speaking"

 spirituality for the street

johnfrankshares.blogspot.com

           Thanks!

     See you next week.

            ******