The Magic Eyes: A Little Fable
In the village of Faken there lived
a righteous man, named Fouke. He and his wife, Hilda, were living a happy life.
Hilda respected her righteous husband, and loved him too, as much as he allowed
her; but her heart ached for something more from him than his worthy
righteousness. And there, in the bed of her need, lay the seed of sadness. One
morning, having worked since dawn to knead his dough for the ovens, Fouke came
home and found a stranger in his bedroom lying on Hilda’s round bosom. Hilda’s
adultery soon became the talk of the tavern and the scandal of the Faken
congregation. To everyone’s surprise, Fouke kept Hilda as his wife, saying he
forgave her as the Good Book said he should. But deep in his heart Fouke could
not forgive Hilda for bringing shame to his name. He only pretended to forgive
her so that he could punish her with his righteous mercy. But Fouke’s fakery
did not sit well in heaven.
So, each time that Fouke would feel his secret hate toward Hilda, an angel came to him and dropped a small pebble, hardly the size of a shirt button, into Fouke’s heart. Each time a pebble dropped, Fouke would feel a stab of pain. The pebbles multiplied. The pain multiplied. The angel came to Fouke one night and told him how he could be healed of his hurt. The angel said, “There is only one remedy for the hurt of a wounded heart. You need the miracle of the magic eyes – the eyes that could look back to the beginning of your hurt and see your Hilda, not as a wife who betrayed you, but as a weak woman who needed you. Only a new way of looking at things through the magic eyes could heal the hurt flowing from the wounds of yesterday.” “How can I get your magic eyes?” replied Fouke. “Only ask, and they will be given you. And each time you see Hilda through your new eyes, one pebble will be lifted from your aching heart.” Fouke could not ask at once, for he had grown to love his hatred. But the pain of his heart was so severe, so finally he asked for the magic eyes. And the angel gave.
Soon Hilda began to change in front of Fouke’s eyes, wonderfully and mysteriously. He began to see her as a needy woman who loved him instead of a wicked woman who betrayed him. The angel kept his promise; he lifted the pebbles from Fouke’s heart, one by one, though it took a long time to take them all away. Fouke gradually felt his heart grow lighter. He invited Hilda to come into his heart again, and she came, and together they began again a journey into their second season of humble joy.[1]
The Journey to Forgiveness
As Christians, we know we need to
forgive, seek reconciliation, and carry on with life gracefully. But in many
cases, this is incredibly difficult. The journey toward forgiveness is long,
humiliating, painful. There is no magic wand or short cut. But, the Bible does
give us the new magic eyes to see things differently, so that the pebbles in
our hearts can be taken away, one by one.
In today’s scripture we meet a man who was given the magic eyes from God. Joseph. For him, it took 22 years to forgive his brothers. The story begins when Joseph was 17 years old (Gen 37:2). He was Jacob’s favorite. Jacob made a special robe for him. His brothers hated Joseph because of the father’s favoritism. They wouldn’t even speak to him. Finally, the opportune time came. When Joseph was looking for his brothers in the field at Dothan, they plotted against him and sold him into slavery. From a beloved son to a slave. Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. But even there, he saw God was there with him. “The Lord was with Joseph, and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master” (39:2). Then, another trial came. Joseph was falsely accused by the master’s wife and put into prison indefinitely. From a slave to a prisoner. But again, even there, Joseph saw God was right there with him. “The Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the eyes of the prison warden” (v. 21).
Joseph had been a slave and then a prisoner for 13 years. He could blame his brothers for his misery and hardships. He could have a pity party. Instead, from all of those years Joseph learned to see all things from God-centered perspectives. He begins to understand that all things, good and bad, are under God’s control, and that God is able to use even evil deeds to fulfill his plan. Joseph is given God’s magic eyes. So, he says to his brothers, “You sold me here; … It was God who sent me here ahead of you to save lives” (v. 5). The brothers sold Joseph to Egypt with evil intent; they are fully responsible for this wicked deed. But God used this wicked deed for a good purpose. And Joseph is able to see that. He continues, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So it was not you who sent me here, but God” (vv. 7-8). God. God. God. Here Joseph fixes his eyes upon God – God’s providence, God’s sovereignty, God’s steadfast love. By this, he is able to love and forgive.
The True and Better Joseph
Though Joseph is a shining example
of forgiveness, today’s passage is much more than just a moral lesson, such as
“Let’s follow Joseph’s example.” In fact, Joseph prefigures our Lord Jesus Christ. We see the clear
parallels between Joseph and Jesus. As God sent Joseph to Egypt to save his
family, so God sent Jesus to earth to save his people. John 3:16 makes this
point: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus saves from more
than famine. Jesus saves us from our sin so that we may receive new life.
Tim Keller righty said, “Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new [resurrection] power to save them.” Although Jesus was God, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, became human. He humbled himself and died a criminal’s death on a cross. On the cross he destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility – between God and humanity, between us. He mended our broken relationships and established peace.
So now we have access to a life of freedom – freedom from grudges and bitterness, freedom from anxiety and hostility. This is good news. God knows we are weak. God knows it is impossible for us to forgive others perfectly. So God did it for us in Jesus. All we need is to receive Jesus, trust Jesus, abide in Jesus. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Co 5:17). If we are in Christ, we are forgiven, we are reconciled. If we are in Christ, we are ambassadors of reconciliation. If we are in Christ, we are given strength to love and forgive. If we ask God for his magic eyes in Jesus’ name, they will be given us.
Unbroken
The life of Louis Zamperini is a
real example of what the journey to forgiveness is like. His story was
published in the book and 2014 movie titled Unbroken. He was a young
Olympic runner, but then fought in World War II. He was a B-24 bombardier, but
his plane was shot down, and he was captured by the Japanese. As a prisoner of
war, he went through difficult days. One particular Japanese camp guard (aka
“the Bird”) was especially cruel to Louis. The guard would beat him for hours
and then moments later he would hug him and give him handfuls of candy, and
cigarettes. Few minutes later, he would return and beat him again. He even
commanded fellow prisoners to take turns punching him in the face. The guard
was a mad man.
Miraculously, Louis survived. But even after the war ended, his hatred for the guard never ended. It became so intense. He was only thinking about plotting his revenge. He was held captive by his memories and his desire for vengeance. He drank heavily and had nightmares every night. His marriage was in jeopardy. His wife, Cynthia, convinced Louis to attend a Billy Graham crusade. Louis heard the gospel and committed his life to Christ. Only through embracing Christ’s forgiveness personally Louis could forgive the Bird. He received the new eyes. He began to see the guard as a broken man who needed compassion instead of a wicked man who did harm to him. Later, Louis visited Japan and requested to meet with the former guard, but he declined the meeting. Then, Louis had his letter delivered to him, which in part read, “I committed my life to Christ. Love replaced the hate I had for you. I forgive you.” Louis went on to minister to many people with his story of grace.
If we focus on the hurt, we will continue to suffer. But Joseph’s story teaches us to look up and see all things from God-centric perspectives. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (50:20). Our God is in control. He can use even evil human deeds to fulfill his plan. So let us keep singing this hymn with confidence,
This is my
Father’s world:
O let us not
forget
that though the
wrong is great and strong,
God is the ruler
yet.
Let us keep praying and asking God for the new eyes. Jesus promised, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and let him be our Master. Then, we will receive the new eyes. The pebbles in our hearts will be taken away, one by one. Then, we will be free at last. Amen.
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