Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.*

That song has been in my head since reading this article by Joyce Suh. Joyce’s husband Gil posted a link to the article on Facebook the other day. Joyce & Gil are members of our church, and we support their mission in Cambodia.

In a way it’s kind of ironic that I came to the article through Facebook because the article is a reflection on the possible danger that being “wired” presents “of gradually cutting ourselves off from the blessing that comes with being face-to-face with another human being and from being face-to-face with God.” The title is kind of ironic, too -- “Where is My Face Turned,” written 6 years ago, well before Facebook was the well-known, household word it is now.

Regardless of the irony, it’s a good thing to think about. I love connecting with friends and family on Facebook. I thank God for email, such an easy way to keep in touch. But, I admit I am maybe just a tiny bit addicted to my “crackberry.” As with most things, there’s a flip side to the good things technology brings us. It truly would be sad if this paragraph in Joyce’s article described any of us:

We interrupt conversations to receive cell phone calls. We interrupt our work and homework to IM, then suspend our IMing to take calls. During meetings we respond to e-mail and check our calendars while someone across the table earnestly speaks. Our families may be in the same room but worlds apart on any given evening.

As we begin the Christmas season, it is good to remind ourselves of what is the most important in our lives, and to “turn our eyes upon Jesus.”

* From the hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus," words and music: by Hel­en H. Lem­mel, 1922