#74 Luke 11:33-36 Recognizing God

On June 5, 2022 by Amy Burgin

Joy:
Episode #74 Luke 11:33-36

Welcome

Amy:
Welcome to The Christgazing Podcast. We are so glad you’re here. I’m Amy Burgin.

Joy:
I’m Joy Burgin.

Amy:
If you’re anything like us, you desire to fix your eyes on Jesus despite the distractions and pressures of this world. This podcast makes room for us to do just that. Each week we focus on one passage from the Bible by reading it several times and creating stillness after each reading so we might also be still, listen, and know God more. We are in a series that takes us through the book of Luke.

Pour Out Your Heart to God

Amy:
Before Joy reads today’s passage, take a minute to pour out your heart to God. Maybe it’s a list of questions for which you need answers, grief, anger, anxiety, hope, gratitude, joy, or a mix of all these things and more. Whatever is on your mind, name it and bring it to God in the next minute.

[Pause and pour out your heart to God]

What Does This Passage Say About God?

Joy:
In today’s passage, Jesus continues speaking to a growing crowd after he drove a mute demon out of a man. The crowd was amazed, but many were skeptical, and some wanted Jesus to perform a miraculous sign to prove his authority. As I read, consider the question: What does this tell us about God?

Luke 11:33-36 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Again?

Take the next few moments to answer the question, what does this passage tell you about God?

[Pause and know]

What Does This Passage Say About People?

Joy:
In today’s passage, Jesus continues speaking to a growing crowd after he drove a mute demon out of a man. The crowd was amazed, but many were skeptical, and some wanted Jesus to perform a miraculous sign to prove his authority. As I reread the passage, consider: What does this tell us about people?

Take the next few moments to answer the question, what does this passage tell you about people?

[Pause and know]

Lord, What Would You Have Me Know Or Do Today?

As I read for the last time, ask God, “Lord, what would you have me know or do today in response to this passage?

Take the next minute to ask God, “Lord, what would you have me know or do today in response to this passage?”

[Pause and listen]

Blessing

Joy: Christgazer, the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. And may you turn your face toward God today and see him clearly.

One Response

Amy:
Jesus spoke about the eye as a lamp shortly after publicly performing a miracle. Some in the crowd nonsensically demanded a sign of his power even though he had just demonstrated his power. Why refuse to recognize it? In her fictional piece titled The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell explored the concept when she wrote, “God was at Sinai, and within weeks, people were dancing in front of a golden calf. God walked in Jerusalem, and days later, folks nailed Him up and then went back to work. Faced with the Divine, people took refuge in the banal as though answering a cosmic multiple-choice question: If you saw a burning bush, would you (a) call 911, (b) get the hot dogs, or (c) recognize God?”

God made eyes that can see rightly. Unhealthy eyes are like lit lamps covered by dark cloths. How can we remove such coverings from our eyes? A first step is humility, confession that we can’t and don’t know it all. Confession that we might have it wrong. Admission that we don’t even know what we don’t know.

In the book titled People Problems, Dr. Alan Godwin discusses awareness. He teaches two tools to uncover our blind spots. The first is to “Welcome press box feedback.” Let me read a small excerpt from his book to explain what he means by that. He says, “When we watch football games and see quarterbacks talking on the phone, they’re talking to coaches in the press box. The coach sees things from up there that the quarterback can’t see from his horizontal perspective…If the quarterback makes use of the coach’s input, of the coach’s perspective, he can be more effective on the field.” I want to edit Godwin’s instruction. When he says, “Welcome press box feedback,” I would rather say, “Seek press box feedback.” Further, I would like to complete the sentence by saying, “Seek press box feedback from God and trusted Christ-followers.” In Psalm 139:23-24, David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

The second tool Godwin teaches to uncover our blind spots is to “Look in the mirror.” He writes, “Suppose you’re eating at a restaurant. You go to the restroom and, in the mirror, observe that your hair looks nice, but you have a big glob of spinach on your teeth. The mirror provided feedback about what’s right and wrong about you.” Godwin goes on to say that “close relationships are like full-length mirrors” which reflect our positives and negatives. I think this can be true when we are in close relationships with reasonable, non-abusive people. My marriage to my reasonable, non-abusive husband indeed reflects me and my relationship with God.

I believe another powerful way to look in the mirror is to examine our own behaviors and understand the assumptions and motives behind each one. For example, perhaps I begin complaining because I come home to a sink full of dirty dishes. Have I assumed someone else had the time and should have done them? Is my assumption correct? Do I know all about the other person’s day and what they have gone through? An even deeper look in the mirror asks, “Why am I upset about something as insignificant as dirty dishes?” Perhaps I have forgotten what is most valuable in life and should slow down to remind myself.

In summary, I shared four ways to remove blinders from our eyes. (1) walk in humility and confess we might not see everything rightly (2) ask God to examine us and share His perspective with us, (3) ask trusted friends to examine us and share their perspective, and (4) examine ourselves by observing our own behaviors and naming the assumptions and motives that compel us.

God references a lamp many times in the Bible. Let me close with some of those quotes.

Proverbs 20:27, “The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.”

Proverbs 13:9, “The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.”

Psalm 119:105, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet.”

2 Samuel 22:29, “You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light”

Psalm 18:28, “You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

Revelation 21:23, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.”

Closing

Amy:
You can find a transcript of this episode at amyburgin.com, where I have links to the books referenced today. Joy and I will be back again next week to go Christgazing together. Until then, don’t forget, when you put your trust in Christ, you are one in whom he dwells and delights, a dearly loved child of God. You are royalty in his strong and unshakeable kingdom. Though trouble abounds, Christ prevails, and so do you.