Eyes to See...Or Not (Gratitude III)

In the movie Hook, Peter Pan has left Neverland and grown older, and he returns to Neverland having forgotten what it means to be the Pan. At a dinner with the Lost Boys, he is confused as they dig into a meal, since all he sees on the table are empty plates and platters. “Believe, Peter,” one of the Lost Boys urges. And Peter does, taking a spoonful of invisible mush and splattering it onto Rufio’s face. Suddenly, he can see. There is a banquet before him, colorful, piping hot, delicious. He chooses to believe and that choice gives him eyes to see. Some things have to be seen to be believed, but some things have to be believed to be seen.

It’s a beautiful metaphor, and not too far removed from the regular invitation of Scripture. In Second Kings 6, for example, Elisha’s servant is freaking out because he and the prophet and all of Israel are outnumbered by the Arameans. But Elisha prays that his servant would have eyes to see the reality all around them. As a result, the servant sees that the hills all around are filled with angels, an army of heavenly backup.[1] That changes everything.

This idea that there are two realities—one we can see and one we can’t (at least not with natural eyes, anyway)—echoes throughout the Scripture. Paul prays it explicitly: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”[2] He knows that there’s one reality we can see, which is often dark and dreadful. But behind it, there’s a radiant and resplendent light of hope. He prays that we can see through to this deeper reality. 

In the ancient world, it was believed that the heart and the eyes were directly connected. In The Sermon on the Mount, for example, Jesus says that if our eye is healthy, our whole body is full of light.[3] But he’s not just talking about our physical eyes or bodies, but about the health of our heart as the center of our being. With our spiritual eyes, we see things beyond what our natural eyes can see, where love and hope are destroying fear and death, even if this deeper reality escapes our natural mind. When we see the reality of Christ’s resurrection beyond our momentary suffering, we can know that “the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed in us.”[4]

Our work as outposts of the Kingdom—ambassadors of the Reign of God—means being people with a soft heart, full of light. Our hearts gets stuck and we need a way to unstick them; not to turn the light on, but rather to see the light that is always there. Gratitude is this switch. It’s gratefulness that gives us eyes to see and that brings us back into the story that God writes. 

Haven’t we all experienced that? You are having a horrible, no good, terrible day, but you find a way of giving thanks and your perspective changes. Everything flips, or at least you find a center of calm in the storm. On the other hand, things can be great, but if you’re not grateful, it all just becomes so much dust in your mouth. Rich people often have great anxiety because they have so much to lose! They may be rich in things, but poor in spiritual maturity, gratitude, or happiness. 

Conversely, gratitude is the one trait that consistently marks happy people, whether they have a lot or a little. You don’t need much to be rich, but you do need a grateful attitude. In fact, the most consistent trait of happy people is a consistent practice of gratitude.[5] Science, too, makes a strong case for gratitude. For example, according to the book Thanks!, “regular grateful thinking can increase happiness by as much as 25 percent, while keeping a gratitude journal for as little as three weeks results in better sleep and more energy.”[6] How beautiful that our nation enshrines Thanksgiving as a national holiday, and what a tragedy that we make it about acquiring more things—as though it’s having things and not giving thanks that makes us more human and closer to the God who made us, not to mention to one another. 

Paul writes the craziest thing from a jail cell: “Rejoice!”[7] It’s crazy because of what he endured right before this. If he’s writing from Rome, as most scholars think, then he’s already encountered stoning (imagine people threw fist-sized rocks at his head), prior imprisonment (he was probably imprisoned at least three times), shipwreck, and snakebite. He has been persecuted, abandoned, and suffered a “thorn in the flesh.”[8] But, celebrate! Rejoice, baby! You have to conclude that Paul’s either crazy, or he’s high on some wild mushrooms, or, like Peter Pan, he’s seeing something beyond sight.

Remember that engaging spiritual practice is a way of training our souls. We form habits. We train ourselves to be content. Paul has actually trained his soul into a state of joy, even in the midst of trial. In the same letter from jail, Paul says, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.”[9] Not, “I just stumbled into it,” but I have learned. In other words, it has taken effort, intentionality, and, no doubt, trial and error, failing and going again. But the end result is gratitude and a life grounded in thanksgiving, with a heart that can see God no matter what is happening.  

Gratitude fills our hearts with light, giving us inner sight. When we can see into the beyond, we can learn to be content in the present, even when there’s great challenge in it. This, by God’s grace, will transform our lives.

Scripture tells us explicitly that the story of Israel in the desert serves as a lesson for those of us who come after them.[10] It’s a story teaching us to embody our trust in daily habits of thanksgiving. It’s a story telling us to practice gratitude. Only through gratitude can we keep our eyes open to the mercies that are new every morning, with eyes that see, in the desert or anywhere else. How important for us, who live in a violent world, filled with so much disappointment, to have eyes that see the light beyond the darkness. 

For all of these readings in one place, order my book 'Learning to Live and Love Like Jesus.'

[1] 2 Kings 6:15-17.

[2] Ephesians 1:18a, NIV. 

[3] Matthew 6:22. 

[4] Romans 8:18.

[5] Studies abound. See, for example “Gratitude: Parent of All Virtues” in http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/positive-thinking/ [July 21, 2017]

[6] See Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert A. Emmons. Houghton Mifflin, Co, New York, NY. 2007. See pages 9-11 for some of the basic science behind gratitude, though here I am quoting from a book description. 

[7] Philippians 4:4. “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again, rejoice!” Paul writes either from a Roman jail or under house arrest.

[8] See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

[9] Philippians 4:11b.

[10] Psalm 95:8.