The Lamp

In 1st John 2, we can read some words of caution about how the things of this world and a love for them can negatively impact our lives:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

What we allow to influence us can determine the way we think, the worldview we develop, and how we interact with God. There are three components highlighted here - the lust of the flesh, of the eyes, and the pride of life.  You could say that if we have a strong desire for the things of the world, our desire for the things of or ways of the Lord will be diminished.  We have to guard those gateways to our soul - our eyes and ears, so that we are resisting what the enemy would use to hamper or destroy our walk with Christ.

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In Matthew 6, Jesus taught about the influences that can make an impact on our soul. Verse 22 was referred to on national television by a famous actor recently.
22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew McConaughey has received quite a bit of media attention these days, since he does have a new movie in theaters called, The Dark Tower, in which he co-stars with Idris Elba.  (Plugged In gives the PG-13 movie 2-1/2 out of 5 for family-friendliness.)

And, from a faith perspective, there have been a few intriguing comments that have emerged.  What he said on Good Morning America has received some coverage on Christian media outlets.  One of them, Christian Today, reported:

The 'Dark Tower' actor said on Good Morning America that he and his wife's choice of name for their son was influenced by the Bible and particularly his favorite verse Matthew 6:22 - 'The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.' (NIV)

'Levi's another name for Matthew in the bible,' the 'Dark Tower' actor said on 'Good Morning America.' 'We had talked about possibly Matthew, Jr. if he was a boy. And my favorite [verse] in the bible is Matthew 6:22.'

Levi is now nine years old, and that name was one of seven choices.  But the story says, "In the end, they settled on Levi because the numbers in the verse perfectly lined up with the time of his birth - 6:22am.

Interestingly enough, this incident may have occurred before McConaughey made a renewal in his faith walk.  Levi was born long before Matthew and now-wife Camila Alves were not married until 2012. That verse, Matthew 6:22, is engraved on his wedding band.

The article states:

McConaughey previously admitted to drifting away from his church roots when he became famous and even stopped going to church altogether after finding super stardom in Hollywood, but later he found his way back - all thanks to his wife Camila's faith. 

There's a link to another Christian Today article that provides some context.  That piece says:

Just before the couple said "I do," they made a vow. "Let's go make a covenant, with you, me and God," McConaughey told his soon-to-be wife.

Also, Matthew "said fatherhood made him 'more compassionate' and made him instinctively know what's important in life," according to the article, which stated, "Having children brought McConaughey back to church, and he now attends a non-denominational church in Texas."

He made reference to God in his acceptance speech for the Oscar for Best Actor in 2014.  He said, "First off, I want to thank God, because He's the one I look up to."  He also referred to God as someone who could "answer all his questions" and "who has a hand in all of this miracle we call life, which I believe is a miracle."  

Well, it does seem that the light of the world is illuminating the life of this A-list actor, and he is taking the opportunity to refer to Scripture.  To go on Good Morning America and discuss his favorite Bible verse and how it influenced the naming of his son is a refreshing change.  It can remind us of how sometimes we never know how God is working in a person's life, something I like to say consistently.  

And, to have a high-profile person acknowledge that, I think it can challenge us to be willing to discuss matters of faith openly.  This strikes me as a very matter-of-fact story; and that really could be what our testimony is, just telling people what God has done in our lives.  

We can be encouraged as we think about times when we have seen God show up - sometimes it's in the everyday, the routine.  Sometimes it may be in a supernatural, unexplainable way. The time of birth for McConaughey's son, for instance. And, perhaps when those other-worldly things occur, we can stop and think that it could be the hand of God.  He works outside the realm of our comprehension and brings an awareness of His presence into our sensical realm.  We can expect God to do things that we as mere humans cannot understand.