If “Thine Eye Be Single”
Those who are familiar with the Bible may realize that the phrase within quotation marks above are the Words of Christ. The Word single is found only twice in the Bible. Both times Christ is speaking. In Matt. 6:22, Christ is in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount and is preaching to disciples. He said: The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. He wanted all Israel to know of the coming kingdom. Therefore, His message in this great sermon should be recognized as “Pentecost pointers”. The Lord knew that there would be a great effort on the part of the unbelievers to sway folks from belief in Him.
Christ was not telling them that they should be a “cyclops” or that it was necessary to take out one of their eyes. He was teaching them that they would need to focus if they were to become part of the kingdom for which He would die. Previously, He told them to be careful where they “laid up treasure”. In Matt. 6:21 He told them: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. What they held most dear, was that upon which they would most direct their focus.
The second recorded occurrence of “single” used by Jesus is located in Luke 11:34. In this context, the eye is said to reflect what it allows in to the mind. If “light” is allowed in and focused upon, then light will be that which others will see in us. On the other hand, if we allow “darkness” to invade and permeate our minds, this is what we shall reflect. In John 8:12, in one of His many discussions with the Pharisees, Jesus said: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Of course, they were not following Him. They were focused and fixated on what they wanted. They were “in the dark” seeking their idea of the kingdom, and harbored evil thoughts. It was just as Jesus said in Matt. 6:23 - But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. He concluded with: “how great is that darkness! ”
Perhaps this is part of the problem in many congregations of the Lord’s church today. Many will say the problems are attendance, lack of giving, not enough study, not enough prayer, apathy, or many other things. Most of these are only symptoms of a “disease” that is afflicting many of God’s people today. It will do no good to treat symptoms and allow the disease to go unchecked. It is comparable to continuing to adjust one’s eyeglass prescription, and ignoring the brain tumor that is causing the loss of sight. If the cause is not addressed, the symptoms continue.
The disease that produces all the symptoms above and more, is a lack of focus. Surprisingly, some Christians remain distracted or inattentive and are seemingly O.K. with it. Sadly, they don’t realize where lack of focus leads. God has continually warned His people against lack of focus in His Word. In the Old Testament, He often sent prophets to call Israel back to faithfulness. In Amos 6:1 we read, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! ” Those of Israel who were “at ease in Zion” were those who were simply “religious”, but not godly. The focus of these folks was mainly on what they wanted. They were fine with being the “chosen” of God, so long as they could live their lives as they wished.
As Christ was teaching about New Testament times, and the church which He would purchase in His death, He stressed focus. This applies to all. The Jew would be required to leave Judaism and not look back. Those who would be converted, would be required to leave that old life of sin and heathenism behind. Focus on the “new life” in Christ was required. This is why, in Luke 9:62, Jesus said: No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. One looking back on, and clinging to the “old life”, have not put to death the “old man” and the sin which separated between them and God. In Rom. 8:3, the Spirit had Paul state it thusly - For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Throughout the New Testament, the Spirit, through inspiration, also warned those of the church to not lose focus. In Gal. 5:1, He had Paul warn the Christians of that area to “stand fast”, to retain their focus on the “new” Law, and take care not to return to the bondage of sin. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. If they lost their focus on the truth, and then embraced the doctrines of the Judaizing teachers, they would be taking on an additional ”yoke of bondage”, the old Law, which none but Christ could keep perfectly.
Focus, or singleness of eye is continually stressed in the New Testament. To maintain focus, Christian growth must occur. Diligence of attention is a necessity. In 2Pet. 1:4-9, those who had obtained “like precious faith” through obedience to the gospel, were given the tools for growth. In verse 10, we find an inspired guarantee. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
Why not examine yourself today and see where your focus lies? Is your focus on a life lived for self, or on obedience to, and in service to God? If our eye is not single, or our focus not on the “things above”, we will miss the prize of heaven.
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
