Seeing God in the Eclipse
William Shakespeare said, “The eyes are the window to your soul.” Assuming our eyes are functioning correctly, eyes do not lie. They see things as they really are. We might perceive or interpret what we see incorrectly, but the misinterpretation problem does not lie with our eyes. Our eyes see the truth, no matter what spin we try to put on that which we see. We can look into someone’s eyes to gauge so much about them. Think about someone with a glazed-over look or a wide-eyed look of astonishment. Or how about the person with tears in their eyes or that glare you get from someone who is not happy with you.
Much of the country will be treated to a solar eclipse today. The eclipse’s visibility is predicted to track through fifteen states. Solar eclipses happen about two times every year, but total solar eclipses are much rarer The last total solar eclipse in the US was back in 2017. Before that, the last one to cross North America was 1979. And before that, 1880. After today, the next total solar eclipse won’t be for another twenty years.
There are many events built around eclipse-watching parties. Back in 2017, we lived in New Bern, North Carolina, which then saw an eclipse with 92% coverage. My wife and I viewed the eclipse on a restaurant rooftop that included food and drinks. And of course, also the proper protective eyewear. It was a fun day. Today’s eclipse, for those lucky enough to be in its path, will be varying degrees of an eerie darkness. Our eyes will not be able to see much around us for those few moments. Or will they?
The Bible talks about our eyes being the window to seeing or not seeing God. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, his teaching on how to live a life full of love and grace, wisdom and discernment, a life dedicated and pleasing to God, says this – “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, hoe great is the darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23). I believe these two verses tell us that it is through our eyes that we find our way. Light comes into our body through our eyes, and we either are “see” light or we “see” darkness. Light illuminates God while darkness blinds us to God.
Our fallen nature keeps us from seeing God fully. Our fallen nature lets darkness in, and we need the power of God’s Spirit to “see” God. We need ask God to guard our eyes from all that blinds us from seeing him. We need the revelation of God in order to grasp his goodness. The prophet Isaiah, when challenging people, whose vision had been darkened from continually looking onto the face of their idols, to look into the skies, said this – “Look up at the sky! Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great – not one of them is ever missing!” (Isaiah 40:26, GNT).
Psalm 119:18 gives us a similar message – “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your laws.” Here the Psalter is praying for a life of fellowship with God, in obedience to God’s divine revelations, so that he can “see” the wonderful things found in God’s instruction. Psalm 119 is an acrostic psalm, consisting of a section for each of the twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. V.18 is in the third section Gimel, the third letter in that alphabet.
Today, what will you “see” when looking through your solar eclipse glasses? Will you let this rare alignment of the Sun, the moon, and the earth (all created by God to reveal His majesty) give you eyes to see the majesty of God in the eclipse?
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