Look Up
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Psalm 123:1
The Golden Egg was the big prize at my sister Susan’s birthday party on April 11 back in the 70s. I’ve lost track of the year, but I clearly remember it was near Easter and we had an egg hunt as part of the celebration. Our yard was big and full of excellent hiding places. Everyone hunted around in the azalea bushes or looked down all around the roots of trees. I don’t recall how many eggs I found, if any, and I couldn’t tell you what was in them, either. Here’s what I do remember: my sister was the only one who thought to look up, so she found the golden egg. It had been tucked up on a ledge at the corner of our home. While everyone was busy staring at the ground, Susan was the only one who looked up.
Psalm 123:1 says, “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!” This is a good word for our daily lives. It’s a simple action to open your eyes and look up. That can be hard if you’re used to staring at your circumstances or your phone or the things you want for yourself. Looking to Jesus puts us on a new path altogether. As we experience the fullness of his mercy, we begin to behave differently. We fall in love with sacrifice and with serving. We set ourselves aside joyfully when we follow Jesus. One of my favorite hymns is “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” In that song, we are encouraged to “look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.” This is where we find real treasure, by looking to Jesus. Every golden opportunity we long for is found in him.