Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Ephesians 1:18 ESV

If faith is being certain of what is unseen, then why are eyes important in scripture?

To have the eyes of our hearts enlightened is to have light illuminate and penetrate the most real part of us. The heart is central to our character, soul, and affections. Without the eyes of the heart, we couldn’t see Jesus who is the Light.

I worked for an ophthalmologist for over thirty years. I learned a lot about our physical eyes and how amazingly our Creator designed them. There are different procedures that help increase sight. A common laser treatment creates a new opening in the membrane that holds the implanted intraocular lens. This occurs sometime after removing the original cloudy lens. The scarred tissue behind the new lens obstructs light from passing to the back of the eye where visual images are formed. The ophthalmologist guides a laser that blasts tiny bursts of energy through the membrane and results in much clearer vision.

God restores sight to our souls when we trust Jesus for the forgiveness of our wrongdoing. Just like the song, Amazing Grace, we were once blind, but now we see! Our hearts before knowing God were hopeless and closed, like the membrane that can affect physical sight.

Hearts, like eyes, can become hardened and scarred by choosing ways contrary to God’s ways. When Jesus penetrates our heart, we return to Him and seek to honor Him. Humility before God allows Him to open our hearts, increasing our ability to discern truth and wisdom.

Why does God enlighten our hearts? That we may know the hope of the good news of Jesus that He has called us to; and to know what the riches of His glorious inheritance, which is the saints—God’s people.

Pray by faith with the Apostle Paul to receive spiritual sight.

Karen Sims