by John Grant
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.” Luke 24:39-40
Somewhat annoyed after a long hold on a busy day and just to make a hotel reservation, I suddenly began listening to the “on hold” music. It was the song made great by Dean Martin, “My Heart is an Open Book.” As I listened to the lyrics, suddenly I made a Biblical connection I had never heard before from that secular song. “Don’t believe all those lies, just believe your eyes and look, my heart is an open book. I love nobody but you.” Wow! I thought of Jesus saying, “Look at my hands and feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see.”
Like the world of today, Jesus lived in a world of lies. There were false prophets, evil agendas, untruthful claims and a host of socially distorting propositions. But, Jesus was different from the rest. While He was a great preacher, others were eloquent as well, but only Jesus could pass the visual and personal test. He challenged people to look at him.
In the context, Jesus meant look as more than employing one’s sight. He meant to search, to turn attention, to focus expectations and to turn in a specified direction. If Jesus couldn’t pass the personal examination test then nothing he said mattered. He could pass the test no other religious preacher, leader or philosopher could pass and He freely invited all to examine him.
Marilyn Monroe said, “You believe lies so eventually you learn to trust no one but yourself.” That is so true today. Modern society is losing its moral fiber because we are being fed a pack of lies from a world embedded with a secular world view.
Only a focus on the Bible can bring us back to a world that claim’s a Biblical world view as its foundation. Just as Jesus said “look,” the Bible uses the word three hundred and twenty five times! Look at the book and then look at the world from the eyes found only in the book.
Another quote of Marilyn Monroe, shortly before she took her own life was: “It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone else.” Many in today’s world are lonely and unhappy…..lonely because they have no spiritual dimension to their life and unhappy because they are feeding on a pack of worldly lies fed to them directly from the pit of Hell. Last year there were more suicides than homicides. Electronic social networking gives us unprecedented opportunities to get connected, but loneliness is greater than ever.
Don’t believe all those lies, look at Jesus and see that His heart is an open book. His love is honest and true and He loves nobody but you.
(a thought on life from John Grant )
You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2010/10/13/jg_believe-your-eyes/
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney
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