There is a story about a prince named Arjun who was practicing archery with his many brothers and cousins. Their teacher put a wooden sparrow on a tree branch and told the children to aim for the sparrow’s eye.
Before they began, the teacher asked the boys what they saw.
The first boy responded, “The bird, the branches, and the tree.”
The second replied, “The bird, the tree, the sky, and the sun.”
As the man went through the line, the boys got more and more detailed in their descriptions.
At last, the instructor asked Arjun the same question and he said, “Blackness, my teacher, blackness.”
Surprised, the teacher asked him to explain.
Arjun said, “It is the blackness in the center of the eye of the sparrow. I can see nothing else.”
He went on to be one of the best archers of his day.
When Joseph went to get wine for their sacrament, an angel came to him and told him “it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament.”
It mattereth not.
Then what DID matter?
“That ye do it with an eye single to my glory.” (D&C 27:2)
I think this is such a beautiful and important lesson.
There are a lot of things we do in this gospel. Mutual. Temple work. Sacrament. Ministering. Tithing. Family history.
They matter—not because of the action itself, but because of Who that action turns us towards.
And when we lose that singleness of focus on God, we add a lot of the stuff around those things that “mattereth not.”
But when we maintain that focus, “all other things will fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.” Ezra Taft Benson.
Truly, “Those who have eyes single to the glory of God are those who see the most of reality.” (Neal A. Maxwell)
When the boy focused on the sparrow’s eye, that is what his arrow gravitated towards.
And when you focus on the God whose eye is on the sparrow, that is what you will gravitate towards.
So keep your eye single to the glory of God.
And your life will suddenly become less cluttered by the things that “mattereth not” and joyfully full of what truly matters.
If you would like to subscribe to receive Come Follow Me Daily emails in your inbox, click here.
come follow me daily 