Matthew 6:22-23- 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, how great is the darkness!

Amanda and I are in the stage of life where our boys are beginning to play sports. Both love baseball, and we have spent our fair share of time at the ballpark the last couple of years. If you have ever coached little league or had a child participate, you’ve probably heard some of these common phrases: keep your eye on the ball, good eye, focus on the target and etc… whether you’re a “baseball person” or not, I’m sure you understand the vital role one’s eyes play in sports. You simply can’t hit or catch what you can’t see…

This past weekend Brantley and his team played in Roswell, Ga. One of the highlights of the day was getting to meet former Atlanta Brave, Dan Uggla. He was a coach and dad for one of the opposing teams. He was great with the boys and spent a good bit of time answering questions from our star struck 7 year olds…

Dan Uggla had a great career, especially the first part. As many of you know, he broke onto the scene with the Florida Marlins and always destroyed the Braves at the plate when they played, so the Braves ended up signing him to a long-term deal. Uggla did great with the Braves for several years until he began to have eye trouble. He would eventually undergo corrective surgery, but it never fixed his issue. Uggla went from hitting 30 plus homers a year to not being able to play anymore. I think we can all agree, the eye is an important component to how our physical bodies respond.

The eye is the organ of sight. It functions as a lamp for the body it serves. As a lamp sheds light to see our surroundings, the eye allows us to perceive physical reality, and is the primary instrument the body has for seeing what actions and reactions it should undertake to accomplish the goal for the body. If the eye functions properly and is clear, it guides the whole body to safety according to the light it sees.

But on the contrary, if your eye is bad and can’t see well, your whole body will be full of darkness. It won’t properly perceive the environment surrounding it… The body will have spotty details, no information, or even false information that guides its steps and will be unlikely to pursue the best course of action. If your eye is bad, your whole body will be in the dark, or as Jesus says, “full of darkness”.

The warning of Jesus is this: If we spend our lives focusing on the kingdoms and powers of this world, our eye is bad. Subsequently, our whole body will be full of darkness, because we will invest our treasures and exhaust ourselves in the vain pursuit of sad rewards—earthly glory and praise from men.

But if our eye is good…. It will lead to living a life that has the rewards and fulfillment, both in this life as well as the next! Here’s my encouragement- Keep your eye on the prize!

-Taylor