Proverbs 7:2. keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
We naturally protect our eyes don’t we. If dust or sand is blowing around us we close our eyes to protect them. Maybe you’ve worn protective goggles in the pool or while doing a project. God even built natural eye protection into your face – eye lids, eye lashes, eye sockets, all protect the eye. Why? Because, obviously, our sight is very important.
In ancient times, the center of the eye, the pupil, was called the apple of the eye. Whatever you kept as the apple of your eye was what was most important to you. It was central to your life. It was the thing that you loved so much that you stared at it (literally and figuratively). In the psalms, King David said it this way:
Psalm 16:8. I have kept the Lord always before me.
We look at what we love, and what we look at the most is what we become. This is the law of worship – we become like the thing we worship, the thing we keep as the apple of our eye. David moved the Ark of the Covenant out of the Mosaic Tabernacle and into a tent in his back yard so that he could look at it constantly as a representation of God. He kept God and the teachings of God at the center of his life. By contrast, we tend to look at everything but God. Social media scrolling. Binge watching. News channels. Home shopping. Pornography.
Like Solomon, God wants his children to look at his wisdom and his ways. He wants us to look at Christ and his cross. Why? To keep Jesus as the apple of our eye. How? By knowing that God has made us the apple of his eye. King David again:
Psalm 17:8. [God] Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,
God loves us. He always keeps us in his sight. He never stops affectionately staring at us. His children are the most important thing to him. How do we know? Because Christ, our brother, died for us, rose for us, and placed his life inside of us, that’s how.
Knowing this, knowing that we are centered in the heart of God, is a life altering realization. Christian, you are no longer defined by how you see yourself, or how others see you, you are defined by God’s view of you. You are not defined by your failures or faults, your successes or mountain tops. You are defined by your union with Christ. Your union with his righteousness and love.
On the cross, Jesus had one eye on the Father and one eye on us. His great love for us carried him through the shame of sin to the glory of his Father. A glory that now lives in us. A glory that the Father can’t and won’t ever take his eyes off of. Centered in Christ, you will always be in the center of God’s love.
You will always be the apple of his eye.
You: What is the apple of your eye? The center of your affections?
You in Christ: You are the apple of God’s eye. How does this strengthen you for what lies ahead?
Christ in you: How can you set the Lord Jesus always before you like David did?
Pray: Father, you have made me the apple of your eye. In Christ I am your beloved and you are mine. Help me to love you and to keep my eyes on you too. Amen.
To Live is Christ 