Believing is seeing
A woman who became blind due to a congenital ocular defect firmly believed in God. Her blindness did not deter her from living happily. A faith-healer advised her, “Trust me; I’ll cure your blindness!” She replied, “There’s no need for that. I can see everything I need to!”
We take our eyes for granted, not realising their worth. But the Bible regards eyes as spiritual treasure, frequently referring to the action of seeing as pleasurable: a “delight to the eyes” (Genesis 3:6).
The eyes are also a source of beauty, “David was ruddy and had beautiful eyes” (1 Samuel 16:12), and there are many references to beautiful eyes in the Song of Solomon.
Eye images abound as anthropomorphic portrayal of God who sees. God looks at creation and says, “It is good” (Genesis 1:12,18,25). God’s seeing sometimes results in judgment (Job 34:21; Psalm 66:7). Indeed, there is nothing unseen by the omniscient God (Psalm 139:16; Hebrews 4:13). Moreover, Prophet Ezekiel depicts heavenly creatures as “full of eyes all around” (1:18; 10:12).
Sight is frequently used as a symbol of human understanding (Genesis 3:5; Jeremiah 5:21). Eyes also signify spiritual insight, which is considered God’s gift: “eyes of our heart” (Ephesians 1:18). However, such understanding may be blinded (Matthew 13:13; Luke 24:16). People can also be seen as “blind” due to their refusal to respond to God’s word (Isaiah 6:10).
Jesus promised “recovery of sight to the blind”, but criticised those who were “spiritually blind”. He wanted us to understand spiritual realities with our inner eye.
Certain Mediterranean cultures regard the “evil eye” — the “isabat al-ayn” — as being the magical power of some people to look at others and cause them harm. Against these, Islam teaches that Allah is the only one who can protect against the evil eye.
Wise men and women of various religions are called “seers” because they are gifted with spiritual insight. An ancient etymology of “rishi” derives from “seeing” (rishi drishtatvat). In the Bhagvad Gita, Arjuna desires to see the eternal form of Krishna, who answers that he cannot see such form with ordinary, mortal eyes. Krishna then grants Arjuna a provisional divya chakshu, divine eyes (11:8) so that he can see Krishna’s eternal form.
Our eyes help us to see and relate with our world. They also express a wide range of emotions, both positive and negative: delight, anger, humility, grief, arrogance, envy, hatred and flirtation. Moreover, our “inner eye” makes us aware of deep truths about human nature, our world and God. Beyond that materialistic “seeing is believing” mentality, let’s also realise — like the blind woman — that believing is seeing.
Francis Gonsalves is the principal of the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi. He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com
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