imaging jesus
"The eye is the body's lamp. If your eyes are good, your body will be filled with light; if your eyes are bad, your body will be in darkness." —Matthew 6:22-23
Where our treasures are, there are our hearts (Mt 6:21). Moreover, what our eyes look at will probably become our treasures. Advertisers know this. Their commercials project images designed to capture our hearts and manipulate us into buying their products. Because of the power of images, the Jewish people forbade the making of graven images, and the Lord commanded us to close our eyes lest we "look on evil" (Is 33:15).
However, images do not always warp our priorities and steal our hearts. They can lead us to make Jesus our Treasure so we will give Him our hearts. God's word commands us to fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2; 3:1). This can mean looking at Jesus' picture on the crucifix, a picture of the Sacred Heart, an icon of Jesus, or another image. We can also image Jesus in our minds. Our imagination is the power to produce interior images. If, in the Spirit, we use our imagination to make images of Jesus, our bodies will be filled with light, Jesus will be our only Treasure, and our hearts will be in the right place.
Prayer: Father, I will look on Him Whom I have thrust through (Jn 19:37).
Promise: "If I must boast, I will make a point of my weaknesses." —2 Cor 11:30
Praise: Jorge gave his life to Jesus at a prison prayer meeting. Now a free man, he helps lead the prison ministry.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, November 12, 1996
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 10, 1996