"Look With Your Special Eyes!"

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

- Matthew 5:8

A couple years ago, they came out with a commercial for 1-800-CONTACTS that really cracked me up! It's done in the overly-dramatic style of a soap opera, sort of. It begins with a woman telling her husband that she ordered his contact lenses, and the package has arrived.

"They can't have my brand," he says. "I have special eyes."
She opens the package and shows him... "Look! Look with your special eyes!"
And when he looks, he is overcome with emotion, "My brand!"

Maybe it's just because I'm legally blind, but for whatever reason, that has been one of my favorite commercials from the first time I saw it. I even shared it on my Facebook page a while back!

Well, if there's one thing I've tried to do throughout this blog, it's to let you have a glimpse at the world as I see it, and to encourage you to then look at the world through your own special eyes - or "holy eyes", as I termed it in my post about seeing Unexpected Crosses. There, I challenged you to look for God in the midst of mundane things, so I was thrilled when one of my co-workers recently came to me with this example - courtesy of 1-800-CONTACTS.*

* I have no relationship with 1-800-CONTACTS and am not being paid to promote their service, but hey, if they should happen to see this and want to offer me money, I won't turn it down! ;-)

My co-worker, Jacque, brought me this box a few weeks ago and said, "Maybe you can use this as a sermon illustration someday." I thought I'd share it here. It's a box like you might receive if you ordered from the above-named company who isn't paying me for product placement. (Hint, hint!)

"I am..." the slogan begins. Several "I am" statements cover each end of the box.

   "I am a live chat at 11pm."
       "I am a hand-written note."
            "I am open 24 hours a day / 7 days a week."
                 "I am a call, click, or visit away."

Examples from the other end of the box include, "I am 9 million customers served" and "I am satisfaction guaranteed."

Right away my mind runs to the story in the Bible where Moses encounters God in the burning bush. God is calling Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and into the Promised Land, but Moses wonders, "How can I possibly accomplish this?" God says, "You can do it because I am with you." Then Moses asks, "If they ask me who sent me, what can I say?" And God replies, "I AM WHO I AM. Tell them that I AM has sent you!" (paraphrasing Exodus 3:7-14)

It's a powerful moment in the story, because God is saying so much with so few words. He's talking about the fact that he is all-powerful, that he is eternal, that he is bigger than any obstacle or any weakness. It's a moment where God is basically saying, "All your doubts and questions can be laid aside if you'll just remember who you're talking to!" As I see all the "I am" statements on the contacts box, I'm reminded that God is many of those things.

   God is in a late night conversation with a friend.
       He's in a note of encouragement someone gives you, and he reveals himself in his Word.
            God is available, even when you feel like you have no other friends.
                  He's always just a prayer away, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

"The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth."

- Psalm 145:18

As I've mentioned in other posts, God is everywhere. He's in your favorite childhood memories. He's in relationships with other people. He's in a ray of sunshine on your darkest days. He's even in the clouds, if you look for him! You can recognize God's presence with you anywhere, if you just remember who he is, what he's promised, and what he can do!

And God is dependable.
   When our love fails, his love remains steadfast (Psalm 136).
       When we are weak, he is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
            When things seem impossible to us, they are possible for him (Matthew 19:26).

What a blessing it is to know that when your trust is in the Lord, you never have to feel alone, and you never have to be afraid!

Pop in some holy contact lenses - "Look with your special eyes!" - and see how God is at work everywhere, leading you, protecting you, teaching you, helping you. Seek the Lord earnestly, and he will reveal himself to you! (Jeremiah 29:13)

That commercial still makes me laugh! :-)