Anxious thoughts tumbled over in my mind as I rushed home from work. My son John had been playing with his cousin when he accidentally got hit in the eye with the sharp point of a pencil. When I arrived home and looked at his eyelid and then his eye, it looked serious. His eye was red with broken blood vessels and his eyelid was bleeding.
Off we rushed to the doctor. After careful examination the doctor explained, “The eyelid is tougher than you think. I think his eye will be fine in time.”
The eyelid designed by our creator God has tough, fibrous tissue which does not easily allow sharp objects to pierce it. Also, strong muscles can snap the eyelid shut in an instant, without you or me consciously thinking to do it, which would waste valuable time. That is what happened to John. His eyelids closed a fraction of a second before the pencil hit, protecting his eye from serious injury.
King David wrote these words in Psalm 139:1414I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalm 139:14) as he thought about the marvel of his own body: “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Eyelids automatically bathe and polish our fine optical instruments about every five seconds when we blink. Eyelashes also stand guard, being very sensitive to any dust, grit or foreign matter that could harm or irritate the eyes. They signal the eyelids to shut if necessary. Did you know that your eyebrows also help to protect your eyes? The next time your forehead is hot and sweaty, feel your eyebrows. More than being a pretty decoration, they help to keep salty sweat from running into your eyes.
There is another most important use of the eyelid that we must consider before we stop, and for this we must use our voluntary muscles. There are things that can enter into our eyes which are far more dangerous than pencil points. These are things which can harm our souls. Besides the evil all around us, there are pictures and reading material in magazines and on television which can awaken what the Bible calls “the lust of the eyes.” Our eyes constantly transfer images to our brain, much like a camera, and there they often stay for the rest of our lives. In James 1:1414But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:14) God faithfully tells us that “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” We can avoid temptation often by simply closing our eyelids and turning away. Let’s use our eyelids to block out that which Satan, the prince of this world, would try to use to destroy us. “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee” (Proverbs 4:2525Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. (Proverbs 4:25)). “He that . . . shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high” (Isaiah 33:15-1615He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; 16He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. (Isaiah 33:15‑16)).
ML-09/24/1995