What's Behind Your Eyelids?

at first glance, this could seem to really contradict this whole "wide-eyed" business, but work with me, people... :)

there's more to this life than meets the eye, i think. i tried to write a poem that captured this idea once. i'll spare you the details, but i will say this. the physical world that greets our eyes can sometimes be deceiving. granted, i'll be the first guy to tell you that i think creation shouts that there was a brilliant artist who drempt up this masterpiece that we call the "the universe"...from a smile, to a sunset, to a majestic mountain peak, to an autumn leaf, to even the genius of the eyeball, the revelation of God in us and around us is astounding. but, what happens when we pause, close our eyes and imagine that which lies beyond what our physical eyes can grasp? there is so much that is written between the lines that sometimes what I see physically confuses me, or better even, distracts me, from truth and life. we certainly have a culture that is known for its ability to entertain and look good. when interacting with the people in our world, can we see past the facade and imagine that the someone standing in front of us may be an eternal being, created with a purpose?

i sometimes think that movies such as Lord of the Rings, Braveheart or Gladiator (three of my favorites) get right to the heart of people, because somehow, in some way, we believe in our loins that there is truth in these myths. they strike our core because we feel as if we've been in the midst of these epic adventures and battles on this quest of life. perhaps, these epic adventures just lie beneath the surface. beyond what our two eyes can see. i guess i have to question what's there and what am i going to do about it? in the Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he writes that "our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." heavy stuff. he also encouraged us to look beyond earthly things and "fix our eyes" on eternal things--things unseen. in a world so full of visual stimulation, maybe we can stop and look at the people around us wide-eyed and with our eyes closed. perhaps we can see that there is a battle going on, a battle for our hearts. or maybe we might just see what some really needs, or maybe we may be able to begin to see them as our Creator sees them.