A Great Grey Owl, silent but deadly. Its piercing eyes swept over me as I held out a leather gauntleted hand, baited with meat. It became a matter of trust- would I hold still and believe the falconer who said “They never miss” with a twinkling eye and smile…
Moments later and the owl perched on my arm, ripping with a delicate savagery at its reward.
My reward was to be so close to a magnificent bird, the perfect combination of soft feathers and razor beak. But I still remember the thrill of seeing those piercing eyes meeting mine and sharing an experience- one much more thrilling for me than the owl. In the wild their flight is utterly quiet, their hearing remarkably sharp, and their eyes incredibly precise.
Christian faith is in some ways an encounter with the eyes of Almighty God. The Lord is watching… and He longs to see us gaze into His piercing eyes. In the Old Testament only a few saw visions of God: Moses, Elijah, Ezekiel. It is more about us being seen:
For his eyes watch over a man’s ways,
and he observes all his steps. – Job 34:21
In the New Testament we encounter God Incarnate, Jesus Christ. How privileged are those who saw Jesus face to face, met His eyes, and felt His deep compassionate Love! John 19:26 tells us that Jesus in the hour of death on the Cross looked at His mother and entrusted her to John’s care. After the Resurrection the disciples saw Jesus up close and personal and marvelled at the victory over Death.
The Bible closes with a new vision, a new hope, and a fresh joy. We will be WITH God- and our eyes will be able to gaze into the majestic, terrible, gentle, pure eyes of our Creator-Redeemer-King. They will pierce our very soul- with Love.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. - Revelation 21:1-7
The Reflectionary 