Hazel-eyed Christians

I was looking at a young man the other day that I think must have changed his eye color. I know that his eyes were green, but they positively looked gray in the light in which we were standing. There was another time that I know that his eyes were blue. The only normal color that I have never seen in his eyes is brown.

One whose eyes seem to change with the light is said to have "hazel eyes." The color is not definite or clear, but rather seems to be as much a reflection of the conditions around them as they are their own. Its hard to know what to put on your driver’s license sometimes.

There is the temptation often for us to have the same condition in our lives. That is, it is often much easier for us to adopt the character and behavior of those around us than to put out a definite, clear color. Like hazel eyes, our lives change with the atmosphere, and nobody is the wiser – except God.

I read a bumper sticker one time that said, "If you’re not a Christian everywhere, you’re not a Christian anywhere." Paul tells us, "And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2). We are not to go out of our way to blend in. As Paul quotes the prophet, "Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:17-18).

There should be as much difference between us as Christians and people of the world as there is between night and day. Both Paul and Jesus made that analogy. Paul said that we are to be "seen as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15). Jesus said, "Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:14-16).

Light, in the Scriptures, often symbolizes enlightenment and righteousness. Paul wrote, "Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them; For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord; and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them" (Eph. 5:6-11). We have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Sin has been taken away and we are now free to live a life of service to God. Paul is telling that we ought to act like it.

In other places he tells us the same thing in other words. "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called" (Eph. 4:1). "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel" (Phil. 1:27). Our lives are to be worthy of the gospel. That is, they are to reflect in them the power and salvation that is our in the gospel. We are not to be partakers with those who stay outside the grace of God through ungodly behavior or attitudes.

As we apply this to our lives, we also ought to make application to our teaching. Our teaching should be the same whether we are at home or far away. We cannot change or soften what we teach in order to please men. "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10). We do not want to be guilty of "tickling the ears" of those who cannot tolerate the truth. Yet there are some who make that their stock and trade. Our task in not to entertain or make people like us. Our task as Christians is to properly represent the truth, to persuade men (2 Cor. 5:11), to bring every thought into captivity to Jesus (2 Cor. 10:5). The word of God is a sword, and swords will often cut those whom they are used on. We must wield them gently (2 Tim. 2:24-26), but wield them we must. But we must never misrepresent or compromise its precepts (Prov. 23:23).

People must see in us the image of the Son of God. If our lives are unclear or constantly changing with the atmosphere of our surroundings, what must they think of the Christ?