Look and Learn
These three small words “ Looking unto Jesus, “ which we read in Heb. 12:2 contains a great secret. They tell us, that first of all we should see the Lord Jesus now, and then go on seeing Him not only upon this earth, but throughout eternity.
You may have heard of the Niagara Falls in Canada. It is supposed to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Just as people go to see the Taj Mahal in Agra they go from many parts of the world to see the Niagara Falls. It is a very beautiful sight. The river Niagara Falls in two places, one on the American side and another on the Canadian side on the border. In 1928 five of us went to see these famous Falls. After we had spent about two hours looking at the Falls, my friends said to me, “Let us go, we have seen the Falls, it is enough.” I said to them, “ We have been hearing so much about the Niagara Falls from so many people, and now, having come here, why should not we see something more of them?” They replied “You have already seen them, it is only water falling; what more do you want to see?” They went away that very evening. They thought, perhaps, that if they stayed on longer they would have to spend more money in the hotel. But I stayed there for five more days and began to visit the Falls at sunrise, mid-day and at sunset. I began to see them in a new way. The more I saw this wonderful sight, the more I noticed how exceedingly beautiful it was. Nevertheless to appreciate the full beauty of the Niagara Falls one needs to see them in winter, and summer, and other seasons as well. If it takes so long to appreciate the beauty of the Niagara falls, which are only a very, tiny bit of God’s creation, then it is evident that it will take eternity for us to appreciate the beauty of the Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is so glorious and beautiful.
When you fell downcast, discouraged and disappointed in your private life or in your ministry, you should pray. “Oh God. Give me a new glimpse of the glory of you Son.” John the apostle had the privilege of seeing the Lord most closely. He served Him very faithfully. He could ask Him any question. In fact, he could even lay his head on the Lord’s bosom. He saw the Lord transfigured; He saw Him rise again and ascend to heaven. But now in the Book of Revelation, John in his old age saw Him in an entirely new way. He knew it was the Lord, Jesus Christ. He had no need to ask, “Who are you? Because he heard a voice saying “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” (Rev 1:11). John turned around to see the one that spoke and straight away he fell at His feet and said, “O Lord, I never knew you are so beautiful and so great.” We require many days to know more fully the meaning of the features of the Lord Jesus Christ, His hair, His feet, His hands, His eyes, His mouth and garments.
Why did our Lord appear to John that way? The answer is simple. Our Lord was telling john, “I want my people to become like me, “That is why the Lord’s people had to go through extreme suffering at that time. Now, for example, if you want pure shining gold, the gold has to be melted, and refined in the fire. The goldsmith makes the fire exceedingly hot until the surface of the molten metal becomes like a mirror in which he can see his face. The reflection of the goldsmith’s face in the molten metal is the test that the gold is perfectly pure. In the same manner, we have to be refined by the fire of suffering, till the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ can be fully seen in us.
I said a few words about the white hair of our Lord. Now I shall say a few words about the eyes. A story is told of Napoleon, Emperor of France. There was in his army a company of soldiers who were rebelling against him. So Napoleon pitched his tent and gave an order, “bring those rebellious soldiers into my tent one by one.” The emperor sat in his tent, and according to command the soldiers were brought before him one by one. He did not say a word, but he just sat and looked at each of them, one by one; from head to foot, and sent them away. From that day none rebelled against him. Napoleon did not speak. He did not say,” Look here, you have done something wrong”. The soldiers could see from his eyes that he was very angry. So they feared him and said to themselves, “If we do not obey him, he will punish us.”
A wealthy man in America had one good eye and one glass one. The glass eye was so beautifully made that nobody could tell which was the glass eye and which was the real one. One day he called a child and asked it, “My child which of my eyes is the real one and which is the glass one?” The child at once pointed out the glass eye correctly. The man said, “How do you know?” The child answered, “Because there is no love in it.” The glass eye was only shining. But there was no love in it. In God’s word I see the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are full of love: divine love, eternal love. In Jeremiah 31:3 we read,” Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.” The fire in the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ is not to terrify you but to pour His love into you. He wants that divine fire to come into you. God wants you to be holy. But how can we be holy? It is by looking into the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ and by seeing Him face to face. In the beginning it is not pleasant, because the fire will burn away every dross of sin in you. But as you continue to look into His eyes; divine love will be poured into you.
Secondly, we read of the same eyes in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. To shew Himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” God’s love is so great that His eyes are running to and fro throughout the whole earth, working on our behalf. His loving eyes run to and fro, like a mother watching over her child. Even though she is at work in the kitchen she keeps her eyes on the child, lest the child falls into danger. If we keep our hearts perfect towards Him by doing His will then we know the Lord’s eyes move on our behalf to give us many friends, brothers and sisters, and to show us many favors.
Again we read, “He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye” (Zech. 2:3). The eye is a very delicate organ. You can touch any part of the body but if you touch the eyes, they will say to you, “Don’t touch me,” So God is saying, “If anybody touches you, I will say, Don’t touch him, don’t touch him; he is My child, he belongs to Me.” We are so precious to Him, that He will not allow any man or power to harm us.
The psalmist says, “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry” (Ps. 34:15). The Lord keeps His eye upon us to save us. Furthermore in Ps. 32:8, we read, “I will instruct thee and teach thee with mine eye.” You can say many things with the eyes. I went to a home one day, and my host said to me “Please have a cup of tea.” I said, “Thank you”. His wife went into the kitchen. We waited for a while, and then she came out and looked at her husband from behind the door and made some signs with her eyes. She indicated that there was no milk in the house, and she wanted her husband to send me away. Thus you see many things can be said with the eyes. The Lord says, “I will guide you with Mine eyes. I will tell you where to go and when to go.”
This is the message we receive from the eyes of the Lord, as we continue looking unto Him.