Editorial June 13, 1964 Issue

Eyes That Are Blessed

Helen Wood Bauman

Christ Jesus made it plain that he had nothing which was not available to all. One of these possessions was the understanding of sight. Many times he restored sight to the blind—and he said that his followers could do the works which he did. He drew a sharp distinction between spiritual and material seeing. He once rebuked his disciples for their lack of true vision, saying (Mark 8:18), "Having eyes, see ye not?" But on another occasion he said to them (Luke 10:23), "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see." showing his approval of their spirituality. Mary Baker Eddy gives us a definition of "eyes" in the Glossary of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," part of which reads (p. 586), "Spiritual discernment,—not material but mental." And in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," Mrs. Eddy quotes Thomas Carlyle as saying (p. 154). " 'Wouldst thou plant for eternity, then plant into the deep infinite faculties of man.' "

Faculties that are infinite can discern infinite truths. The more deeply we exercise our spiritual faculties by planting our lives in the substance of Truth and Love, which are discernible only to spiritual sense, the more the human faculty of sight responds with clarity of vision near and far.

Even humanly considered, sight is a faculty of great importance to us. Through the eyes we identify the material objects around us. Eyes are necessary to our recognition of people and situations. They direct a clear course for us. They give us access to valuable information and ideas by means of the printed page and other media. They often keep us out of trouble. So we can readily understand that human eyes involve more than material sensation; they must become fully subordinate to the control of God and conform to His mandate for normality.

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