Opening the eyes of my heart

My sister posted a great and powerful adage that we, as Christians, get to cling to. "When God closes one door, he always opens another..." This phrase may seem cliched but I think it is very true and very powerful. I responded in part by saying, "Give me eyes to see, O Lord!" But what does it mean to have eyes to see? I think that in order to truly be able to see, we must use more than our physical eyes. We need to be able to tune in with the eyes of our heart - that is our spirit. But how is this accomplished?
We can find that answer in Ephesians 1:17-19. Paul begins the passage by stating that there are three things that will open the "eyes of your heart". He then moves to elaborate upon these three things. I believe that Paul uses the phrase "open the eyes of your heart" in order to state that we need to focus on the big picture of life, both that lived here on earth and the one to come in eternity.
It is so easy to get bogged down with trivial matters. As C.S. Lewis stated, we live "like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because (we) cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea..." (The Weight of Glory) In other words, we settle for what we know, no matter how mundane because we forget or have no ability to comprehend just how grand of a scale our lives CAN be lived upon. The only true way that we can change is to, as Paul said, to have "the eyes of hearts" opened.
In v.18, Paul mentions "the hope to which he has called you". We are saved and bought at a high price. I need no longer fret about my eternal destination because Jesus paid the price of admission - all I must do is accept it and live it. I can only really live out my salvation when I focus less on myself and more on others. If I become self-focused, I become lost in pity and get removed from community. I have been given an incredible hope - the hope of eternity in heaven with Savior for all time!
Paul then mentions the "riches of his glorious inheritance." I am a child of the king! Paul also writes that we are joint-heirs with Jesus. This means that we are going to inherit more than we can possibly comprehend. I'm not talking about earthly riches, like gold or paper money. I am talking about eternity here. Infinity. Transcendence. We have the promise that, as saints, we get to partake in the splendor of the universe. If this seems like a mind-boggling concept - this is because IT IS! I'm not going to attempt to describe every bit because "no eye has seen and no ear has heard" what magnificence God has in store for us.
Finally, and this is where the pay-off is- we know that these two things will come to pass because we serve a God who possesses "immeasurable greatness" and power. Our God is so far beyond our puny imaginations. Think about this for a second. Our God, my God, is omniscient. He knows EVERYTHING. He is omnipresent. He's EVERYWHERE. He is omnipotent. He is all-powerful. There is nothing that God cannot know or overcome. He is so powerful that he possesses the ability to NOT strong-arm us into loving him. It is said that those who possess true power know it. They don't have to flaunt it. The power is innate and it radiates from every fiber of their being. When you are around someone like that, you too know they are powerful. Just imagine how much more power God possesses then.
He has allowed us to CHOOSE to accept him or reject him. He wants my true love. He wants me to come to him only if I want to. This is what blows my mind. My entire eternal destination is not decided by someone else. It is decided by me. Now, there are incredible consequences that come with my choice. I can choose to live like I have hope and a glorious inheritance ahead of me. I can choose to recognize that God is all-powerful and that he made the way to him through his son, Jesus Christ. All I have to do is accept this and then live for him. THIS is what will "open the eyes of my heart."
When I focus on the glorious hope and future that I have in Christ, my arrows, my pain, my struggles start to pale in comparison. My wants and desires begin to become more centered on what Jesus would want for me rather than what I think I want.
And yet, it is still so easy to try to find our doors to open. The problem is that in seeking our own doorways, we tend to choose our own "mud pies" because we know no different. Our eyes are then closed. If we reject God's paths in exchange for the temporal and ever-changing, we then live life grasping at straws. We then spend our lives searching for peace that never comes. We wind up living looking for the next big thing, yet when this comes, it is never enough.
It's like living with an itch that you just can't scratch. I know because I have lived that way. I chose to make my own "mud pies" because I never wanted anyone - ANYONE to tell ME how to live MY life. But you know what? Nothing fit. Nothing gave me peace. Nothing allowed me to look at myself in the mirror and actually LIKE what I saw. Sure, I had attended church for years. I knew my Bible. That wasn't the problem. I studied to be a pastor but I walked away from it when things got really tough. Why? Because the "eyes of my heart" were closed. I had the head knowledge and some raw gifts. The problem wasn't that. The problem was that I hadn't allowed God to become REAL in my life! That is a choice that must be made. You have to WANT it.
I believe this is what Paul is alluding to in this passage. He is offering a brief glimpse into the realm of possibilities. We don't have to live in the squalor of our own lives. I no longer have to live a selfish and incomplete life. Jesus has offered so much more. One choice. Just one choice can change everything. If we will but "open the eyes of our hearts", we gain HOPE, INHERITANCE and the knowledge that the omnipotent creator of all things is ultimately our Lover, Lord and King. In this way, our eyes are able to finally see those other doors that may bring our greatest hopes and needs. What a wonderful promise!