Christians Are Bright-Eyed

As bright-eyed Christians, we are called to expose sin. Now that involves risk. There’s not much risk in shining a light on a possum, but when you’re called to expose sin there is risk. It means we step forward in faith, and trust that God’s love is more powerful and precious than anything else, and, so we’ll assume the risks necessary to carry out God’s will. It’s risky to confront a friend or relative about sin. A lot is on the line. There could be the potential that a relationship is destroyed, or you might become unpopular. It can even be embarrassing to expose sin. A lot of people don’t like to hear words like homosexuality, abortion, or pre-marital sex. This sinful world rather blind itself to the truth and use terms like alternate lifestyle, pro-choice, or meaningful relationship. Whether it’s inconvenient, embarrassing, or risky, it is necessary to speak out against the darkness of sin and call it by its right name. That’s what Jesus did. He said: “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.”

Too much is at stake for us to say nothing. The eternal destiny of a person’s soul is at risk! As bright-eyed people, we are to expose sin. We first do that with ourselves. And that’s risky. Nobody likes to admit he’s a sinner, but it is necessary. So, we must keep our eyes wide open and look to the cross of Christ Jesus. Understand how much your sins cost him. Our sins killed him! We must keep our eyes wide open to that truth. When we do, then we will see clearly. We will see that Jesus did this for us willingly; he loves us that much. The light of Christ’s grace makes us bright-eyed because it is reflected in us.

We need to be bright-eyed in that we are unafraid to approach people in the darkness of sin. Now, we may run the risk of being labeled mean-spirited, or self-righteous, but we take that risk because we reflect the love of our heavenly Father who desires all people to be saved. God wants us to flush out and expose those spiritual possums; we do that in our own lives first, and then, we shine for others.

When a person is crushed by the sense of his own guilt and doom, God wants us to be bright-eyed. He wants us to tell that person, “Look me straight in the eye. Jesus died for you. He loves you and gave his own life so that you might be saved!” Be a bright-eyed Christian. Speak the gospel with a smile on your face and with a sparkle in your eye. Trust that the Holy Spirit will use that good news to work faith, and, in that way, one more lost, blind sinner will become a child of light.

It is amazing grace. The Lord made us – sin-darkened creatures – into his children. Now, he entrusts to us the privilege and responsibility of leading others to see the light; to share his amazing grace. We are bright-eyed. The light of Christ’ love is shining in us and through us, as we share the light of salvation with others. So, keep on shining. Amen.