Hi friends, this is Joni Eareckson Tada, and welcome to Joni and Friends.
I’ll never forget when I was once drawing an apple. I was rendering it for an illustration in one of my children’s books. I’d gone to the market and found the biggest, roundest, shiniest apple at the supermarket, and I placed it right by my art easel. I even put a lamp near it so that it would shine even brighter. Then, choosing just the right shades of red and a little bit of blue and white to draw the glossy parts of the apple, I started in with my pastel pencils. And let me tell you something… after a few days of working on that apple, I had looked at it so much. I mean, I became the apple expert in my office. I grew to love that apple. “Don’t you dare touch it… you come in here, it’s mine… you leave it alone.” I should tell you, by the way, that after I finished the drawing which, incidentally, took more than several days to get it just right… afterward I called a couple of people into my art studio and my secretary and I celebrated by eating it! Because no longer was it the apple of my eye… it became the apple of my tummy.
I thought about this fun story the other day when I read that marvelous verse from Deuteronomy 32 where it says, “The Lord’s portion is his people and in a desert land, he found them. In a barren waste, he shielded his people and cared for them. He guarded them as the apple of his eye.” I love that verse.
But it raises the question, who is the apple of your eye? Maybe your grandchild or your son or your fiancé with those soft eyes and tender smile of his or hers… whoever is the apple of your eye, I tell you what, one thing is for certain: you love that individual with an intense affection. That person gives you joy indescribable. In short, you feel something for that loved one, right?
And here’s the thing. Friend, you are the apple of God’s eye. God actually feels something about you. He feels powerful emotions when it comes to you. “This person is mine… do not disturb him lest I say so… leave him alone… I love him. I know him.” What’s even more poignant is that God’s joy and delight over you finds its best expression at the cross, for God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son. The Father – now listen to this (I sound like Charles Stanley here) – the Father watched his Son’s murder because he loves you. Did you hear that? This means that his love for you is not surface… it’s not sentimental, it’s not words. It is hard-won and victorious and rugged and very, very serious. God is the admiral flying colors of victory over you. As another writer has put it, he is the hero that has carried you to safety from the fire of hell. God is the joy-filled warrior who has purchased you and brought you home safe and sound.
So spend some time today meditating on this truth as you imagine God’s eyes of love resting on you. Remember, the Father watched the murder of his own Son… he stood by and let it happen… because he knew it would mean your salvation. And nobody can touch you or harm you… for you are the apple of his eye.
Please write or visit me today at joniandfriends.org. Of course, you can always call by dialing 1-888-522-5664. Here’s hoping I hear from you today.
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