Open your Eyes

I have always loved reading all the old Peanuts cartoon strips in the paper. There is a simple humor about the characters that Charles Shultz developed. The first Peanuts strip ran in 1950. In February of 2000 after 17,897 comic strips, the series came to an end. Recently there was one in the paper that caught my attention. Snoopy is looking up into the sky and is communicating with his friend Woodstock. Snoopy says “You have? You’ve actually flown above the clouds?” In the next frame, Snoopy continues and says; “Wow! What was it like?” In the final frame Woodstock mumbles something to snoopy (I guess in animal talk). Snoopy responds, “Well you shouldn’t have closed your eyes.”


I believe there are a number of things that we are blind to in our life. We hurry from place to place and never take the time to open our eyes to see the beauty that is around us. Maybe it is a scarlet red maple tree that we drive by every day. It might be a beautiful sunset as the clouds disappear just at the right time to allow the sun to set in all of its beautiful glory. There are times when you could slow down and watch the birds gather around your bird feeder and enjoy the meal that you have left for them. There are countless items that we seem to be blind to, or seemingly have our eyes closed just like Woodstock.


As important as it is to keep our eyes open to the beauty and might of God’s wonderful creation, it is even more import to keep our eyes open to the word of God. To know and understand what God’s will is for each of us. Wouldn’t it be a shame to go through life with our eyes closed to the wonderful teaching of God’s word. It is in God’s word, the Bible that we can gain strength to face another day. II Thessalonians 3:3 tells us “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” When I know that I can face the day with renewed optimism, it gives me an entirely different outlook on life. If I closed my eyes to that simple truth, imagine what I would be missing. What would my life be if I closed it to the truths of Romans 15:4; “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Isn’t it wonderful to be able to read the beloved stories of the Bible and receive encouragement so that I can have hope. As we go through life, let each of us resolve to keep our eyes open not only to the beauties around us, but also to the comfort that we can find in God’s word.