The Apple of My Eye

The Apple of My Eye

(“He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of His eye.” Deuteronomy 32:10b)

I don’t know how people do it. How do they take a flimsy bit of plastic, place it on the tip of their finger, and paste it onto their eye with barely a blink? Our eyes are among the most sensitive areas of the body. A speck of dust we might not notice on our tongue wreaks havoc when caught in our eyes. Run the tip of a needle across your arm and then think about doing the same thing to one of your eyes. Did you grimace?

As sensitive as the eye is to touch, and especially pain, it is interesting that God says to Israel (and, by extension, to those who follow Christ) that they are the apple of His eye. It is a familiar idiom, used for someone or something that is the object of our affection. It is a person who we greatly cherish. I might use it of my wife, or of any of my children, and we would immediately understand the relationships. “She is the apple of my eye, I don’t know what I would do without her.”

The Hebrew for this phrase can be literally translated, “The Little Man of the Eye”. It is probably the reference to the tiny reflection of oneself we can see in other people’ pupils. I immediately had an image of “me” imprinted on God’s very pupils. What an extraordinary thought! To think that God not only thinks about us, but has us always “in His eye”.

We understand this is a metaphor. God is not physical, therefore does not have an actual “eye” to see with. But here’s the thing about metaphors, they almost always are a picture of something greater than themselves. So, as beautiful as it seems for our image to be in God’s eyes, the reality is even greater. It is far beyond our imagination to even understand the depth of God’s affection for each one of us.

So, what about the apple of our eyes? Think about the affection and pride that wells up in your heart about your children. You want to show them off. You carry picture of them in your wallet (sorry…on your IPod), and show them off to anyone who will see. Or, if your “apple” is a prized possession, perhaps a treasure heirloom, you keep it safe, perhaps locked in a cabinet. You shine or clean it, and bring it out to show people when they visit.

So, when God calls those who trust Him the apple of His eye, He wants us to never doubt the depth of His affection. The verse tells us He shields and cares for those who are the apple of His eye. Though we may wander and not give God much of a nod, He is always reaching out to us, using everything at His disposal to help us see His desire to protect and care for us.

God is the perfect parent. Think about what you would do protect your child, the apple of your eye. If possible, you would remove every harmful thing from their path, and if someone threatened them, you would rise up immediately. You would never second guess any action you took to protect them, putting your life before theirs if necessary.

That is how much God adores the human race. As dysfunctional as we can be, as often as we mistreat each other in personal, corporate and even national levels, He still is filled with compassionate for each of us. Even if I am a merely mediocre dad, I still ache for my child when they are going astray or in harm’s way. God provided all that was needed for us to return to Him and not have to face His anger.

Though every action has a consequence on this earth, God chose to take the eternal consequences of every wrong decision, every sin, upon Himself. Jesus was God’s “ransom”, paying the debt we piled up by following our own way. He did that, not so He would have a bunch of people get together for an hour every Sunday and sing songs about Him (some of which people don’t even understand).

God sacrifice His own “Apple”, His own Son, so we could have a constant, unbroken relationship with Him. Here is where I fall so short. Why, when God has treated me so good, when He has given everything so nothing would separate me from His affection; why do I still insist on going my own way? If I am the apple of His eye, how much more should I respond with overflowing joy and love toward Him.

Why not pray as David did: “Protect me like the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.” (Psalm 17:8). How quick are you to protect your pupils from even the smallest speck? That is the attention God shows those who call to Him. Enjoy His love, there is nothing better than being the “apple of God’s eye!”