“Eyesalve to Rub in Your Eyes”

THAT prescription was offered by Jesus Christ to the first-century Christian congregation in Laodicea, Asia Minor.

Jesus said: “Buy . . . eyesalve to rub in your eyes that you may see.” It was, not literal eye disease, but spiritual blindness that needed treatment. Christians in Laodicea had been influenced by the spirit of the materially prosperous city in which they lived and had become complacent about their true spiritual needs.

Commenting on this as the cause of their impaired vision, Jesus said: “You say: ‘I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,’ but you do not know you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.” Although not aware of it, members of the congregation needed curative “eyesalve” that could be obtained only by submitting to the teaching and discipline of Jesus Christ. “Buy from me,” said Jesus.​—Revelation 3:17, 18.

As was true of those in Laodicea, genuine Christians today need to guard against being unduly influenced, perhaps unconsciously, by the materialistic and pleasure-oriented environment in which they live. The prescription for maintaining a healthy spiritual outlook is indicated in the admonition: “Buy from [Jesus] . . . eyesalve to rub in your eyes that you may see.”

Worthy of note is the fact that this “eyesalve” has to be bought. There is a cost involved. Time must be expended to study and meditate on the Word of God. This Word, the psalmist assures us, “is clean, making the [spiritual] eyes shine.”​—Psalm 19:8.