of specks and planks in eyes

I have a speck in my eye. No, really. I do. At least it feels that way. At about 1 pm this afternoon I felt something in my eye. No amount of flushing, irrigating, tearing, whining has been able to resolve it. So, I called my doctor. She isn't in the office. The person who answered was able to track down advice for me. She said, "Flush it with saline solution. Make sure you really irrigate it well. If that doesn't work, then go to the urgent care office." Well I did and it didn't and I won't. Instead, I will tough it out until tomorrow.

Now, why would I dare overshare like this? I share because isn't this a bit like our spiritual lives? We can have a speck of something in our eye, or even simply have an irritated eye with no physical substance affecting it, and it affects everything we do. We especially feel it initially. It is sort of like a conscience. It let's us know something is wrong. I noticed that after awhile I was able to forget about it, although it is definitely still there. It is kind of like a conscience which is becoming desensitized. Just as I was momentarily desensitized to the irritation in my eye, our consciences can become desensitized to wrong choices, to sin. In fact, if the irritation in the eye goes ignored long enough, it can potentially damage the eye. If our consciences are ignored long enough, they can be seared, rendering us unaffected by the conviction of the Holy Spirit and thus damaging our spiritual lives.

I wonder, is there anything affecting your eyes? Your conscience? Your heart? Turn to God through Jesus Christ in prayer. Identify the problem areas with the Holy Spirit's help. Repent and turn from areas of sin. Allow the Holy Spirit to irrigate your heart, releasing again the natural flow of your conscience as tears of grace to resensitize you to God's voice. Experience anew the healing and cleansing power of Jesus blood, and the freedom of a heart refreshed.