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THE WINDOWS OF THE SOUL
Our eyes are gateways of the soul. It has been said that the eyes are the windows of the soul. Many modern day scientists and psychologists are now believing the idea that the eyes mirror the soul. The concept that the eyes mirror the soul is not new. This concept was written in the Bible thousands of years ago. Unknowingly to them, people in the fields of psychology and science are now proving the Bible to be true.
The eyes are said to be the “windows of the soul.” The eyes give entrance of light to the soul which allows people to see objects and images around them. The eyes send the images as signals to the mind or the soul where information is received, evaluated, processed, and stored.
Jesus told us the lamp (light) of the body is the eye. In the Bible “light” speaks of understanding. Jesus is the personification of the LIFE of God. Jesus is the LIGHT of the world. In Him was Life, and that Life was (is) the LIGHT of men. When the Light of Christ shines into darkness it dispels ALL darkness.
The soul without Christ is able to receive the truth when the LIGHT of Christ dispels the darkness within their soul. (John 1:1-5). Jesus is also TRUTH and LIFE. It is the “truth” which sets us free and transforms us into the “divine image” of Christ through the LIGHT of understanding.
When the light of understanding enters into the soul, we call it “divine revelation.” The knowledge of Christ is revealed to us through the “Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.” (Ephesians 1:17). We become born again when we understand and believe Jesus IS the Son of God and He died on the cross for our sins. When we receive and accept Him into our heart as our Lord and Savior, we are born again of His Spirit. It is THE Light of Christ that enters into the soul which has been filled with darkness and illuminates the soul with the truth-- Christ.
Jesus said “If the LIGHT which is in you is not the true light,” your whole body will be filled with darkness. Only the “True Light” can reveal Christ to people and bring spiritual understanding and eternal Life into their souls.
The Bible says “IF we walk in the Light even as He is in the Light, we will have fellowship with one another. (1 John 1:7). When we acknowledge the truth--Christ enlightens the eyes of our understanding and we will walk together in fellowship with Him as well as other believers. If we are not continually walking together with one another in love, it is because our light is dim and we are not FILLED with the fullness of Christ.
And He spoke a parable unto them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” Luke, ch. 6, vs. 39.
People without Christ are spiritually blind. They do not possess the LIGHT of Christ which enables them to “see” and understand the TRUTH. Without the Light of Christ people are destined to live in darkness for eternity. When we find Christ as our Lord and Savior we obtain spiritual understanding. If we confess the TRUTH, truth will set us free from spiritual darkness, blindness, insensitivity, and ignorance.
The LIGHT of Christ enlightens the hearts and minds of those who put on the character of Christ. However, many Christians continue to remain partially blind because they lack knowledge and understanding in some areas of their lives. Pursuing the “divine nature” is not a priority in their lives, thus they languish subjectively in the language of hypocrisy and doctrines of hyper--faithism.
Hypocrisy is caused by pride and spiritual blindness. Jesus called the Pharisees “blind guides.” If the blind lead the blind, they will all fall into a ditch. (John 15:14). Jesus declared the Scribes and Pharisees were full of hypocrisy. He warned the people to “beware of the leaven” of the Pharisees which always leads people down the pathway to spiritual death and destruction.
Today there are many Christian leaders who are or are becoming spiritually blind. They are leading others into spiritual ditches through false doctrines they preach. Only those with “spiritual insight” can pull the spiritually blind out of the ditches they fall into by leading them to the truth. Many Christian leaders today are leading people down the broad path which leads to death and destruction when they should be leading them down the narrow path which leads to eternal life.
There are many Christian leaders who could be considered “legally blind,” spiritually speaking, because they FOCUS more on the LAW than they do the word of the prophets and the person of Jesus Christ. They too will continue to lead their congregations into spiritual ditches until and unless they start preaching the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John, ch. 2, vs. 15-16.
The “lust of the eye” is a strong inordinate desire to possess those things which are “visually appealing.” It is an unnatural appetite to consume with thoughts and feelings things which are sensual and perverted.
When the Serpent tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, she SAW that the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was “good for food.” It was pleasant to her EYES, and a tree desirable to make one wise. (Genesis 3:6). You could say the “forbidden fruit” looked spiritually appetizing to her. Unfortunately, the fruit on the tree was filled with “deadly spiritual poison” which plunged her and Adam into a spiritual downward spiral the moment they ate the “forbidden fruit.” Unfortunately, all mankind was doomed and followed in their “footsteps.”
When controlled and manipulated by the visual aspect of the sensual images we see, we become like Adam and Eve and partake of the “forbidden fruit.” The lust of the eye is directly connected to and in partnership with the “lust of the flesh.” The “lust of the eyes” have a profound and deadly impact on our soul if and when we allow our eyes and our flesh to control us.
The scripture says King David SAW Bathsheba taking a bath and lusted for her. David’s inordinate desire for her led him down a long pathway of sin, death and destruction which caused much pain, sorrow, and grief, not only to him but to many others around him. Fortunately for David, he repented of his sins and God forgave him. Unfortunately, David and many others suffered because of his sin.
If we sin it will not only have a negative impact on our own life but also on the lives of those around us, especially those who love us most. The consequence of sin is always death. When we ask God to forgive us, He is always faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We receive the “gift of forgiveness” when and if we sincerely repent of our sins and change our ways.
The “lust of the eyes” will produce ungodly carnal thoughts in the mind which can be difficult to be delivered from. Our minds are like computers, they can take pictures of the images we see and store them in the databanks or hard drives of our minds. We can “log on” to our physical computers and look at the images any time we may desire.
Many Christians today are hooked on pornography. Someone conducted a secret poll at a large Pentecostal Church seeking to find out how many male congregants were hooked on pornography. Astonishingly, seventy-five percent of the men in that congregation admitted they were hooked on pornography. I am sure this is not just an isolated case of men in churches who are hooked on pornography. Unfortunately, many women are also hooked on pornography. That is a sad indictment on Christians today. Fortunately, God is a God of love and mercy and is willing and more than able to help all who desire to be delivered from their afflictions and addictions.
Many Christians keep their focus on the perverted lifestyles of worldly people. The lifestyles of the “rich and famous” are forever before them. Our lifestyles, motives, and attitudes will determine which God or gods we serve. Many become more attracted to the things of this world than the riches of God’s love, grace and mercy. People who focus on sin will eventually find sin continually knocking on their door. Sooner or later they will weaken and open the door. Sin will enter in and dominate their lives.
The “Law of Attraction” says whatever we are attracted to and pursue the most will eventually determine our destiny. For the religious leaders in Israel it was, and continues to be, the Mosaic Law. Many religious leaders in Israel, ambitiously pursued the “Law of Righteousness,” but never obtained righteousness because the Law without Christ is imperfect. (Romans 9:31-33).
Regarding the Law, the Bible tells us the “letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6). When we focus on and pursue things which do not produce LIFE in us we are destined to be judged by those same things we are focusing on.
In the Garden of Eden Eve took her focus off of the Tree of Life and placed it onto the forbidden fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented the Law of Sin and Death. Those who continually focus on things which produce death instead of LIFE will certainly die in their sins.
The Law could never make one righteous because no one could ever KEEP the Law. Those who are “bound by the Law” are subject to serve the “Letter of the Law” rather than the “Spirit of the Law.” People will continue to remain bound by the Law until and unless they recognize Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The Law of Attraction controls the hearts and minds of all who seek profane and ungodly ideas, ideals, suppositions and perverted lifestyles. The “lust of the eye” and the “lust of the flesh” will always seek to be filled with those things which war against the soul.
Many Christians do not understand how Satan uses the “lust of the flesh” and the “lust of the eye” in order to manipulate and control their minds. There is only one way to be free from the oppressive thoughts and desires to lust after spiritually seductive images. These images bring shame, and eventually destruction, to the soulish man. The Apostle Paul said we MUST cast down all imaginations (soulish thoughts and images) which exalt themselves against the Knowledge of God.
When we cast down and rid ourselves of all the images which are contrary to the “divine nature,” we must replace them with godly thoughts, desires, and images. That is why it is so important for us to study our Bibles, pray on a daily basis, and fast. God loves all people. However, He hates the sin which separates them from His grace and mercy.
There is help available for those who are hooked on pornography or other vices if people sincerely desire help. Help also comes from seeking Christ and following Him daily. Only Christ can deliver us from the snares and entrapments of the enemy. Only Christ can free people from the grasp of sin and debauchery. For those who desire freedom from sin--freedom is available through Christ Jesus.
No matter how far people have fallen into sin, help is available for them if and when they truly desire change. It is never too late to seek help from those who you love and trust. When we believe we can work things out on our own and fail to seek help from others, we may never find the help we need.
The Bible tells us not to love the world or the things which are in the world. The scripture tells us “If we love the things which are in the world, the love of God does not dwell within us.” The “lust of the eye” and the “lust of the flesh” will dominate the soul which loves the world more than Christ. The Bible tells us to “purge ourselves of these things” so we can be “vessels of honor.” When we purge ourselves of all unrighteousness, we will become vessels which the Master can use to share the truth of His Word with others.
The Lord will open the eyes of our understanding when we seek to be FILLED with wisdom and truth. He opens the eyes of our understanding to give us hope for the future and to show us how we can be changed into the “divine image of Christ.” This blessing is available to every believer who seeks the treasures of “godly wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:18).
THE LIGHT OF THE EYES REJOICES THE HEART, AND A GOOD REPORT MAKES THE BONES HEALTHY. Proverbs 15:30.