Lately I have been wondering a lot about human perception. Ever heard about eye witness accounts to an accident? Two onlookers may be present who both claim to have seen the same accident at the same time. And yet, their accounts of what they witnessed may vary greatly. How can this be? Both accounts can't be true. Someone's perception is off. But whose? And more importantly, why? How is it that two people can see, hear, and experience the exact same thing, and yet draw vastly different conclusions about it? It does make me wonder.....
I have been taking an amazing Bible study recently that has been helping me understand the answer to this and other difficult questions. My problem with reading the Bible on my own has always been that I would inevitably run into something in the text that would stump me. Something that seems out of context or just doesn't make sense with what we understand the true nature of Jesus to be. The focus of this class is to teach an inductive approach to Bible study, so that when you hit such a bump in the road, you can find the answer to your own question right there within the text you are reading. As our teacher likes to say, the answer is right there in front of you. The problem isn't the text, it's the reader. Touché!
So the answer to the question above, I have learned, at least as it pertains to the ability to hear the Word of God, is that it has to do with the state of our hearts, and virtually nothing else. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how much Bible knowledge you have, how many verses you can recite from memory, or how many years you have been going to church. None of this matters, and in fact, in most cases just hinders. Because sometimes as we become more and more certain of what we "know" the less likely we are to be able to see and hear the truth. The world class example of this is a group of people known in the days of Jesus as the Pharisees. Just who were these folks? They were the religious heavy hitters of the day. They were the educated head honchos. The guys in the know. The rule enforcers. The heads of committees. The members of the Board of Trustees. The most respected leaders of their communities. And yet with a very few notable exceptions (Joseph of Aramethia and Nicodemus) these men rejected the teachings and authority of Jesus. They heard him teach. They saw him heal. They witnessed his many miracles. They saw the same things the multitudes saw and drew completely different conclusions about what they had witnessed. The multitudes were "amazed". The Pharisees went away and plotted how they could kill Jesus because they thought his works were of the devil. Two different groups....seeing the exact same things......drawing completely different conclusions. Puzzling? Yes, until you consider that it all comes down to the state of the heart. The Pharisees were hard of heart and wedded to what they "knew" and to the status quo. The multitudes, in their ignorance and lack of understanding, were able to open their hearts and spirits and receive the teachings of Jesus. Given this example it is easy to see the wisdom of approaching faith with the eyes of a child....
I used to think that the Pharisees were long gone. That these people only lived in Jesus' time. Then not long ago I realized that The Church is stockpiled with Pharisees. People who know the "law" but have forgotten the "heart" of it. People who sit in pews every Sunday but never sit with anyone in their pain and suffering. People who can recite chapter and verse, but can't say a kind word to anyone in need of one. People who acknowledge that there is suffering beyond imagination in the Third World but then live as if nothing they do contributes to it. Do I sound judgemental? Perhaps. But I will not apologize for speaking the truth. Let those with ears hear.......
So what is the solution? I guess the beginning is just to open your eyes and acknowledge that you are suffering from what one of my friends likes to call "self inflicted certainty". I love this phrase. To me that says it all. The beginning of allowing God to create a new heart in me was first acknowledging that my old heart needed to change. From there many surprising things have come about. Not the least of which has been a much heightened sense of perception about so very many things. I now see whereas before I was blind. I now hear whereas before I was deaf. I now perceive the Hand of God working in ways that I would never have noticed it before. All this, because I was willing to take a good, long, hard look at myself...and then ask God to go to work. I did, and He did, and the rest is now being played out in life as a new creation. To God be the Glory! Shalom!
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