Beauty In, Beauty Out By Cortney Donelson

Luke 11:34-35 (NIV)

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”

“Did you see her eyes?”

They say the eyes are the gateway to the soul. I believe it … God knows it. When Jesus was teaching about this, He said our eyes are the lamps of our bodies (Luke 11:34). That is so very significant. Lamps give off light. He was telling us that our eyes can give off His light. I have heard Jesus’ eyes described as “piercing,” “striking,” and even “like fire.” Have you ever met someone and been struck by her eyes?

I know a powerfully spiritual and godly woman. I met her this past year. Her eyes are a gorgeous green color. Well, they are green most of the time. When she is praying or giving spiritual counsel, I swear they turn blue! (I don’t really swear … but they do!) “When our eyes are good,” teaches Jesus, our whole bodies are filled with light – His light. Wouldn’t you rather be filled with light than darkness? Me too. So, how do we make our eyes good?

When I listen to music, I don’t just hear it, I experience it. Likewise, images, film, TV, books, and gaming are all experienced. They influence our feelings about, opinions of, and relationship with God – and others. God is aware, more so than we, that all this incoming information will affect us, and it can be positively or negatively. It is one of the reasons He instructs us on what to fill our minds with in Philippians 4:8. “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” (MSG) He wants our minds focused on the beautiful and noble, not the immoral and ugly. “Junk in, junk out” as they say. Likewise, beauty in, beauty out.

This godly woman chooses to fill her mind through her eyes with beauty. Her servant attitude comes from her focus on goodness and purity. She demonstrates love and grace like no one else I know. Jesus’ light shines through her as humility and compassion. She craves Scripture, prayer, and truth. Her life profession is proof of all this. This woman is a Christian counselor – beauty in, beauty out.

Individuals whose eyes are good shy away from books, movies, or TV shows that cheapen entertainment and oppose biblical principles. These people are the ones others want to be around. They are positive thinkers. Their joy is found in doing the “right” things – the things focused on helping others. These are the individuals who become truly great. They are the ones who will make a difference for God’s Kingdom.

Those with darkness in their bodies have sold out to the evil with which we can choose to fill our minds' eyes. We know these individuals as sarcastic and greedy. Maybe they feed off gossip. They’re selfish. They might lie, cheat, or steal. Their eyes are hollow. The gateways to their souls are littered with TV shows like “Three and a Half Men” and books such as “50 Shades of Grey.” The eyes of these lost souls feed on pornography and violent video games. If we live with darkness, we have a limited life perspective, and others will notice – junk in, junk out.

Our minds are amazing machines, constantly working. Millions of thoughts and perceptions go through them at lightning speed every day. What we view, read, hear, and do affect those millions of thoughts and perceptions. In his book, “God Is Closer Than You Think,” John Ortberg writes, “In reality, each thought we have carries with it a little spiritual power, a tug toward or away from God. No thought is purely neutral. Every thought is either enabling and strengthening you to be able to cope with reality to live a kingdom kind of life, or robbing you of that life. Every thought is – at least to a small extent – God-breathed or God-avoidant; leading to death or leading toward life.” So what affects our thoughts? What pushes us towards God or away from Him? The answer is whatever we choose…

What we allow into our minds – through our eyes – affects our hearts. We know our eyes are good when the moods that dominate our lives are love, joy, thanksgiving, and peace. We will know when we are living beauty in, beauty out when others’ needs become more important than our own, and as a consequence, others find themselves attracted to God within us and strive to be in His presence. We will know Christ's light is shining through when we feel at peace with what we do with our time and what we allow our eyes to see.

“Did you see her eyes?” they will say.

Prayer – “Lord, thank You for all the beauty You have provided that we can choose to set our minds on and feed our hearts with. I pray all of our choices are wise. I pray, specifically, that my eyes are good and I shine with Christ’s light. I pray my thoughts are bent towards a life connected to You and not to worldly things that will hinder my relationship with You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

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