“The eyes of the LORD. That they are in every place watching everything chills those who do evil and comforts those who submit to Him…The eyes of the Lord are in every place, because He fills all things. He observes both the evil and the good. The evil are good by nature but evil by choice, and He sees these choices. The good are good by nature and by choice, and He also sees this.” (Foundation Study Bible, Proverbs 15:3, Orthodox Study Bible, Proverbs 15:3)
"Our perception is limited to what we see, but we do not know what is in a person’s soul. The gift of discernment is to acquire the eyes of God, who looks at the inner man: “The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Kingdoms [1 Samuel] 16:7)." (Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou)
“The eyes of the Lord look continuously into our own hearts to see if we serve Him. No niche or secret recess within the human heart remains hidden from the Lord…every issue in this life begins and ends in our hearts…” (OCPM 3/28/2017)
“Everything that lives and breathes is sacred and beautiful in the eyes of God. The whole world is a sacrament. The entire created cosmos is a burning bush of God’s uncreated energies. And humankind stands as a priest before the altar of creation, as microcosm and mediator… All things are sacramental when seen in the light of God. Such is the true nature of things; or…“the truth of things,” if only we have the eyes of faith to see it. (Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew)
“Each of us has some manifestation of Christ’s grace in us. This comes out in our personalities and our talents. There is no one who has no gift to offer the world, or who has no gift to offer back to Christ. Because we are ALL made in the image and likeness of God, then everyone has infinite value in the eyes of God. So, while our gifts and talents may be different, God doesn’t value anyone more or less than anyone else—we all have infinite value in His eyes…There are actually unnecessary anxieties that come from failing to believe that our ordinariness is all that matters in the eyes of God.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis, Robert Wicks)