The Apple of His Eye

"Be careful little feet where you go,
Be careful little feet where you go.
There’s a Father up above, and He’s looking down in love.
O be careful little feet where you go.”

I sang that many times as a child. Although, I don’t think it was intended to scare little girls, it wasn’t much comfort to me that God was looking at everything I did and said! Of course, I have a much better understanding now than I did then of what it means to have God watching me. Speaking to the people he had led out of Egypt, Moses recited the words of a song reminding them of all that God had done for them. “In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.” (Deuteronomy 32:10 NIV)

Although some other verses with the expression, “the apple of his eye,” have differing meanings, the use here is of particular interest. The original Hebrew is 'iyshown 'ayin (אישון עין), and can be literally translated as "Little Man of the Eye." This may refer, some writers think, to the tiny reflection of oneself that one can see when looking directly into another person’s eye. So when God looks at me, does He see a tiny reflection of Himself? I think so, for the Scripture says that when we look back at God, that changes us. “So all of us who have had that veil [ignorance of the gospel of Christ] removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (II Corinthians 3:18)

I heard an interesting piece a few days ago about the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. This enormously powerful particle accelerator, when it becomes fully operational, will be the most powerful machine of its kind in the world. It is designed to smash subatomic particles together, to help physicists better understand the basic building blocks that make up the universe. Subatomic material can appear as solid objects, particles, or waves and get this—observation of them changes their behavior. The introduction of some form of energy (light, for example) causes a change in the position or momentum of the “quanta.” It’s pretty hard to study something that changes because you are studying it!

But, you know, that’s exactly what happens when God watches us! Unlike the subatomic particles, we have a will and can make choices. If we are responsive to God as He observes us, He makes us more like Himself. God is looking at me! I am the “little woman” of His eye! And He is changing me to reflect His image more accurately!

MaryMartha
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Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com