As Shakespeare once penned, the eyes are the window to the soul. Earlier still, the Bible calls the eyes the lamp of the body in Matthew 6:22-23. Our inner man peers out through our eyes, revealing the light we claim to walk in. When darkness clouds our vision, dimming the light, those who hold our gaze will see and feel its effects.

Have you ever been in a store or at an event and run into someone that you, for some reason, didn’t want to see or talk to? Perhaps you were in a hurry and knew they would talk your ear off and simply didn’t have time. Maybe there was unresolved relational pain that caused you to bolt the other way. 

Have you ever dismissed your kids to their rooms out of frustration because you didn’t want to look at them at that moment?

What we place out of sight is easier to keep out of our minds.

We humans often avoid eye contact because the eyes reveal what is truly in someone’s heart toward us, and we are afraid to behold it; to confront any truth in it. We wiggle in discomfort. More often than not, it is a perceived assumption, not a reality, allowing fear to hold us back from entering in. At other times, our gaze becomes a weapon of punishment, not a gift of love. Through the simple gesture of holding or refusing someone’s gaze, we either coldly keep others at a distance or warmly welcome them into our lives.

To read the rest of this article, visit Holding the Gaze as an Act of Love by Terri Prahl | Rachael K. Adams (rachaelkadams.com) where it is being featured.

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