Eyes that See, Ears that Hear
It is a well-known fact that any word, when repeated enough, will lose its meaning. The same is true if you stare at a world long enough.
People.
Okay, there's a word. Now stare at it. Is it spelled wrong? What does it mean? Keep staring at it... the longer you look, the less it means. You are becoming hardened to its value.
Often, we talk about being hardened to sin, not recognizing it for what it is because we are so used to seeing it in our every day lives. While this is a serious problem in today's church, it is not the only problem we face. Equally as dangerous, and equally as persuasive, is our hardness to the joy of the gospel.
In the sunrise, in our hearts, in our lives, and in our churches, we have heard the gospel proclaimed over and over. Now, we are like children who have eaten too much of our favorite candy and begun to lose our taste for it. Only we are not simply missing out on a tasty treat, we are missing out on the wonder of the sacrifice of Christ.
We need to view the world with a sense of wonderment again. Perhaps this is what Christ meant when He warned the crowds, "Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Luke 19:17).
The question is, how do we see the world from this perspective? Perhaps the issue is not that we have been seeing the world wrong, but that we haven't been seeing it at all. The prophet Isaiah commented on this when he wrote, "Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10).
Perhaps we should ask the Lord to replace our calloused minds and hardened hearts. We need to ask Him to open our ears to hear anew the glory of His gospel. We need to ask Him to open our eyes to see again the power of the cross in our lives. For it is then, and only then, that we can truly be healed.
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove rom you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."-Ezekiel 36:26
People.
Okay, there's a word. Now stare at it. Is it spelled wrong? What does it mean? Keep staring at it... the longer you look, the less it means. You are becoming hardened to its value.
Often, we talk about being hardened to sin, not recognizing it for what it is because we are so used to seeing it in our every day lives. While this is a serious problem in today's church, it is not the only problem we face. Equally as dangerous, and equally as persuasive, is our hardness to the joy of the gospel.
In the sunrise, in our hearts, in our lives, and in our churches, we have heard the gospel proclaimed over and over. Now, we are like children who have eaten too much of our favorite candy and begun to lose our taste for it. Only we are not simply missing out on a tasty treat, we are missing out on the wonder of the sacrifice of Christ.
We need to view the world with a sense of wonderment again. Perhaps this is what Christ meant when He warned the crowds, "Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Luke 19:17).
The question is, how do we see the world from this perspective? Perhaps the issue is not that we have been seeing the world wrong, but that we haven't been seeing it at all. The prophet Isaiah commented on this when he wrote, "Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10).
Perhaps we should ask the Lord to replace our calloused minds and hardened hearts. We need to ask Him to open our ears to hear anew the glory of His gospel. We need to ask Him to open our eyes to see again the power of the cross in our lives. For it is then, and only then, that we can truly be healed.
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove rom you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."-Ezekiel 36:26
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