(by Lorie Codispoti)
When my kids send me photographs of themselves there’s one thing I do not want to see. Something that I think should require an immediate retake. In fact, I think there should be a beeping sensor on every camera that serves as a warning not to proceed.
What is this aversion that pokes my inner angst?
Sunglasses!
Science has confirmed that eyes tell us many things about a person. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual, the eyes communicate. You can mask the rest of the face and still read things about a person by looking into their eyes. Haven’t you found that to be true these last couple of years?
Shakespeare may have coined the phrase that “the eyes are the window to the soul,” but both he and science only confirm what the Bible says about the eyes being a lamp to the soul.
“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” (Lk.11:34)
I’m reminded of an experience my husband had when he was ministering in a maximum security prison. He encountered an inmate whose eyes were like a deep, empty cavern. (Sin has a way of slowly killing the soul with a hopeless darkness.) Something amazing began to happen as the Gospel was presented to him. This man - whose feet were chained and connected to another chain that was connected to his chained hands - began to lift his arms and use the sleeve of his uniform to wipe the tears that were streaming down his face. John watched the Holy Spirit do what only He can do. As the message of salvation penetrated this prisoner’s heart his countenance began to change. His dark and hollow eyes were transformed as the Light entered his soul and infused it with joy.
Eyes are the dominant communicator.
In one study, participants were shown a variety of eye images and asked to assign an emotion with each photograph. The accuracy rate was very high, especially when it came to detecting things like fear, anger, and joy.
Eyes may not be the only thing we use to evaluate someone’s emotions, but without them our assessment will not be complete.
If a picture paints a thousand words then don’t begrudge this mamma a single brush stroke. Remove the sunglasses so that I may collect and read every beautiful scene that our Father is painting.
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