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The Eyes of The Children
A song that has become one of my favorites starts off “The eyes of the children are upon us”. It goes on to remind us of the powerful impact our actions as Christians are having on others, especially children. It challenges us to look at the sacred opportunities we have each day to make a difference in the life of one who is searching for God…one who seeks love, faith and purpose in each day.
Being a Christian is not what we do on Sunday… it is what we do everyday in
the world. It is a lifestyle that
impacts every moment of our lives…our decisions, our pains, our victories,
our disappointments, our failures and our success.
The eyes of the children are upon us.
They are watching. They see
where our priorities are, not by our words, but by our actions.
They see how we act when we think no one is watching.
It seems everyday we read about how our personal lives are supposed to be our
private affairs and the business of no one else.
It’s almost like morals and values don’t apply in the privacy of
our homes or our lives away from the public eye.
Those who apply moral standards to our private situations are condemned
as being judgmental and imposing their own sets of standards on others, while
those who “let their hair down” in isolated settings are applauded for
exercising their “right to privacy” and seen as persecuted when there are
consequences to their actions. The
assumption is that if no else is watching, then it does not matter what you
do. But someone is watching…the
eyes of the children are upon us. They
hear about our choices. They see
the truth of our actions.
The grace and forgiveness of Christ saves us and redeems us.
Through the cross we are reconciled with God.
And yet this same Christ who offers us the free gift of grace through
His sacrifice says in Mathew 18:6: “But
if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would
be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be
drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Pretty harsh words…not a very “gracy” scripture.
It’s kind of hard not to get Jesus’ point on this one.
To the paralyzed man He says, “ Your sins are forgiven.”
To the adulteress He says, “Go and sin no more.”
To those of us who claim to be Christians and live our lives for the
children to see, He says, “Get it right!”
His words are strong. They
are reminders to me that every decision I have made in my life is used as a
stumbling block or a stepping stone for someone else searching for Christ.
I pray God’s forgiveness for lost opportunities.
I thank God when something is used for His glory.
Above all, may we all be reminded there is never a time when we are “off
duty” as a Christian. The first
thing I wrote on the chalkboard before every football season was, “Honor is
what you do when no one’s looking.” If
we pattern our choices after Christ in our privacy, then our public witness
will take care of itself.
Satan’s greatest temptation is “no one will ever have to know.”
The only problem is that we know…and God knows.
And let us never forget that someone else is always watching.
The eyes of
the children are upon us.
May the strength of Christ make our every moment a testimony to the world that Christ lives in us and our lives, public and private, are for His glory. Knowing Christ makes a difference! May His presence in our lives lead the children into His marvelous light!
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