I Only Have Eyes For You
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us.
Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,
keeping our eyes on Jesus,
the source and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame
and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,
so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.
-Hebrews 12:1-3
I heard the song, "I Only Have Eyes For You", by The Flamingos (1959); which was actually the most successful cover of that song, written by Harry Warren, and first released in 1934, for the movie, "Dames at Sea". Harry Warren, was born with the name Salvatore Antonio Guaragna, in 1893, in Brooklyn, New York. Harry Warren also wrote other well-know songs like, "Jeepers Creepers", "You Must have Been A Beautiful Baby", "At Last", "We're In The Money", and "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
The message of the song, "I Only Have Eyes For You", is the single focus of a person for one other person. It is a special thing when you tell someone that they are the one for you.
What about the eyes? The lover says, "I only have eyes for you". You might know the children's song that says, "Be careful little eyes what you see. There's a Father up above, who is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes what you see." God always sees us and we ought to be careful what we see, and this principal is founded on love.
Jesus taught that what you see is very important. He said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!" (Matt. 6) How and what you see is very important.
This is not about legalism or works righteousness. It is about love. The command is love (John 13:34, 15:12, 1 John 3:23) and the goal of all Apostolic instruction is love (1 Tim. 1:5). Jesus' teachings, like the collection we call "The Sermon on The Mount", tell us how to live in the kingdom, as Christ-followers, in this world.
Because of the love of God, we are children of God, and love others (1 John 3:1-11). It makes sense that we would be enamored with Jesus. He is the one we want to see. He fills our hearts and thoughts.
But, we can find ourselves being good Christians, doing much good, but having lost the love, the life of love for Jesus and living in love, that we had at first. And this was the case with the Ephesian church in Revelation, chapter 2:
Loving Jesus ought to be our life. And we live out his life by loving others. And if we love Jesus, we only have eyes for him. We won't love the world or the things of the world. And our love for our selves is based on his love or esteem for us.
We are humbled by his mercy, his grace, and his love. We see ourselves as his. We are his church that he is building. And the church is the bride of Christ.
Brides are singly focused on their bridegroom. Brides are looking forward to their wedding day. Brides are getting ready for their wedding to their husband. Brides are consumed with their single focus of "the day" and the future with the man they love.
Brides are not looking at other men. Brides do not date other men. Brides are engaged to be married to one man.
An engaged lady does not look at other men with any romantic love interest. If she does, then something is very wrong. If a woman is betrothed to a man, but has a romance with a second man, then she should not marry the man she is betrothed to.
The greatest romance is history is Jesus Christ and his bride. For his bride to be looking at others or just at herself makes no sense. The bride is all about her bridegroom.
When we do see our selves in the mirror, we are seeing the bride of Christ. She is very beautiful to him and he is the love of her life. We say, "I am my beloved and he is mine! His banner over me is love!"
When I heard that song, "I only have eyes for you", all of these thoughts began to come to me. Our lives are about a single focus, Jesus. When we look at him, we see his love, and it captivates us and animates our lives.
It really is that simple. When we lose that focus, we are losing our way and are going to get into all sorts of trouble and heart ache.
Here are the lyrics to the song and then The Flamingos version I heard:
Jesus taught that what you see is very important. He said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!" (Matt. 6) How and what you see is very important.
This is not about legalism or works righteousness. It is about love. The command is love (John 13:34, 15:12, 1 John 3:23) and the goal of all Apostolic instruction is love (1 Tim. 1:5). Jesus' teachings, like the collection we call "The Sermon on The Mount", tell us how to live in the kingdom, as Christ-followers, in this world.
Because of the love of God, we are children of God, and love others (1 John 3:1-11). It makes sense that we would be enamored with Jesus. He is the one we want to see. He fills our hearts and thoughts.
But, we can find ourselves being good Christians, doing much good, but having lost the love, the life of love for Jesus and living in love, that we had at first. And this was the case with the Ephesian church in Revelation, chapter 2:
Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus:
“The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary.
But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in God’s paradise.With the eyes metaphor in mind, I could talk about how we should be careful with what we see and view, which is true; and look at Jesus' words in Matthew 6. But the critique of the Ephesian church, is about abandoning their first love. They were doing good work and they were getting stuff right, but they were no longer walking in the love that started it all.
Loving Jesus ought to be our life. And we live out his life by loving others. And if we love Jesus, we only have eyes for him. We won't love the world or the things of the world. And our love for our selves is based on his love or esteem for us.
We are humbled by his mercy, his grace, and his love. We see ourselves as his. We are his church that he is building. And the church is the bride of Christ.
Brides are singly focused on their bridegroom. Brides are looking forward to their wedding day. Brides are getting ready for their wedding to their husband. Brides are consumed with their single focus of "the day" and the future with the man they love.
Brides are not looking at other men. Brides do not date other men. Brides are engaged to be married to one man.
An engaged lady does not look at other men with any romantic love interest. If she does, then something is very wrong. If a woman is betrothed to a man, but has a romance with a second man, then she should not marry the man she is betrothed to.
The greatest romance is history is Jesus Christ and his bride. For his bride to be looking at others or just at herself makes no sense. The bride is all about her bridegroom.
When we do see our selves in the mirror, we are seeing the bride of Christ. She is very beautiful to him and he is the love of her life. We say, "I am my beloved and he is mine! His banner over me is love!"
When I heard that song, "I only have eyes for you", all of these thoughts began to come to me. Our lives are about a single focus, Jesus. When we look at him, we see his love, and it captivates us and animates our lives.
It really is that simple. When we lose that focus, we are losing our way and are going to get into all sorts of trouble and heart ache.
Here are the lyrics to the song and then The Flamingos version I heard:
My love must be a kind of blind love.
I can't see anyone but you.
Are the stars out tonight?
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright.
I only have eyes for you dear.
The moon may be high,
But I can't see a thing in the sky.
I only have eyes for you.
I don't know if we're in a garden,
Or on a crowded avenue.
You are here and so am I,
Maybe millions of people go by,
But they all disappear from view.
And I only have eyes for you.
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