post by Lisa Buffum, December 15, 2022
Begin by reading Psalm 17 on Biblegateway.com or in your own Bible.
I was the apple of my earthly father’s eye.
I was born a little later in life to my parents. They had thought their family was complete with three sons when they learned that another child was on the way. Born three days before Christmas, they brought me home on Christmas Eve. My three brothers were 15, 12, and 8 years old at the time of my birth. My dad loved his sons, but he had always wanted a girl. I knew was the apple of his eye. I always felt how precious I was to him. I was a lucky girl.
To be the apple of someone’s eye means that you are beloved by him. His focus is on you. He watches you closely. He loves you. Your tiny reflection shines in the light of his eye when he looks at you. You are never far from his thoughts. He would do anything to protect you because you are precious to him. 
In Psalm 17, David celebrates this type of relationship with God, the Father. In fact, scripture is where this term originates. David reminds us that when we call on God He hears, pays attention, and answers. God saves us by His mighty right hand, and we can take refuge in Him from our foes. God keeps us as the apple of His eye, hidden in the shadow of His wings. We are precious to God.
As I seek to be a disciple, I long to know that I am the apple of God’s eye. As His beloved, Christians can have confidence in being the apple of God’s eye. God loves all people, but He calls those beloved whom take refuge in Him.
This Christmas season, and as you reflect on Psalm 17, may you know you are beloved by God. May you know His focus is on you, and He watches you closely. May you grip the lengths to which He will go so that you might take refuge in Him. He will go all the way to manager in Bethlehem and all the way to the cross and beyond for you. You are precious to Him. You are the apple of His eye.
Have a Merry Christmas! The Blog will be back on January 5, 2023.
Photo by Roksolana Zasiadko on Unsplash
PS – Speaking of parents, some might find this online course on honoring your parents as they age very helpful: Honor They Mother and Father as They Age. It begins again January 9, 2023.
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Lisa is the Director of Online Education for the Institute for Discipleship, overseeing the ministries of BeADisciple.com. Lisa completed a Master’s degree in Christian Ministry from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, in May of 2006.
She is the mother of three children, and currently, “Mimi” to four grandbabies. Lisa teaches the instructor training course, Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders, and other courses as needed, and provides technical assistance for instructors and learners for every IFD course.
