The eyes of your heart

"I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power."

(Ephesians 1:17-19)

I love this passage.

I've journaled about it many times. Even if I said nothing today, it's worth simply reading and rereading these 3 verses over and over. (Go ahead and read it again now!) But I'd like to focus on one tiny phrase from v.18. "So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened..."

Paul begins these verses by asking for God's wisdom and revelation for the Church in Ephesus, that they will come to know Jesus more and more. And as they do, that "the eyes of (their) heart" would be enlightened.

Not to be confused with the eyes on our face (which are enticed, distracted, and entertained by all kinds of things - from the good to the not-so-good!)... the eyes of our heart are something altogether different. Windows to our souls, maybe? This is the empathetic, feeling function that God created us to use... and use regularly... so that we might see/feel/understand someone deeply and genuinely. We have to work at this.

Paul also says that it will help them grow even closer to God, as they (WE!) are able to sense what's really important in our faith and discipleship. So may it be with me. And with you.