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I can learn to read, do math, how to behave respectfully, how to cook but can I learn how to love?  I can learn how to behave as though I have love, but can I learn to love or teach others to love with God’s type of love?  I have been pondering this for quite some time.

The Greek language (original language of the New Testament) has four different words for the single English word love.  The Greek word for sexual love (eros) is not taught because it is an instinctive, biological drive imbedded in the body, human or animal.  Because of our self-centered default or having experienced some form of abuse, Phileo (Greek for brotherly love) needs to be taught.  However, even after being learned, it often comes out looking like a tit for tat exchange, meaning that if the recipient does not do their part the initiator stops showing such love.  The mother/parent’s self-giving love (storge) normally comes naturally with the birth or adoption of a child.  Therefore, if teaching is involved it is more of a refinement of a natural love.  The highest Greek term (agape) for a divine selfless love is found deep within a person and cannot be taught.  According to Ezekiel 36:25-27, it comes with the divine gift of spiritual regeneration.  Verse 27 reads … I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (ESV).  The key operative words are my Spirit, cause, walk in and be careful to obey.  Paul says the fruit of the Spirit is love, not of education (Galatians 5:22).  The temptation will be to try to manufacture on your own what only God can give of Himself.  On the human level a person trying to practice this would feel like dutifully loving a spouse while lacking love from the heart that brings a deeper joy.     

I have noted many having prayed an acceptance of Christ and go on to become knowledgeable about the Bible and Christian behavior yet never having experienced an authentic love for Him.  This lack is exposed when they dismiss Jesus’ call to be His apprentice and instead chase after a self-gratifying, fun-loving lifestyle.  This mistake might be compared with confusing an expectant mother’s false labor pains with the real birth of her baby.  Such a person was perhaps being drawn or motivated by a form of peer pressure to come to Christ but lacked the deep humility that gives birth to authentic submission to a Holy God’s authority over them.

In that light, what sort of love do you practice for Christ and others?  If the divine gift of love you once experienced has become smothered with the cares of life or confused with other things, I urge you to take time to clear away the rubble and nurture the flicker of divine love that you DO have.  On the other hand, if you have never experienced a transforming passion for Him, you still have an unbelievable, life-giving experience awaiting you.  It will affect how you see and love others as well.  I urge you to take advantage of the deep intuitive drawing to know God in an intimate way.  You do so by continually surrendering your insistence to make things happen with your own ingenuity.  The benefits of having a deep sense of well-being, a conviction, confidence, and an inner peace are much more profound than anything else life on this earth can offer.  Although you will continually be tempted to respond as you did in your pre-transformed life, there will also be an extra empowerment to do what your new heart desires to do.  Following that internal desire will leave you with a richer satisfaction and pleasure of knowing who you are and why you are on this planet earth as well as knowing the joy of loving others as Christ loves you.  Yes, you will be different from those having never experienced a genuine spiritual regeneration since your identity will now be found in the tribe of your Creator.  You will have no regrets for having chosen to pursue His love.

Being a Christ-follower is very simple—yet most difficult to practice.  Sounds like a paradox. We’ve all said “I want to do whatever He wants.  But He just isn’t telling me what that is.” 

Jesus had fed 5,000 plus people with five barley loaves and two small fish, enough to satisfy one small boy’s hunger.  When the episode was over, the disciples gathered twelve full baskets of left-over broken pieces.  When the crowd realized what had just happened, it dawned on them Jesus was the one the prophet said would come so they wanted to make Him their king.  Knowing their fantasies, Jesus went away to be by himself.

The next day the crowd realized this miracle-worker had gone across the lake so the leaders in the crowd found boats to go enlist Him to be their king.  The leader then asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires? (John 6:28 NIV).  Isn’t this essentially the same question that rattles around in our heads?  Jesus’ answer is profound and applies to us today.   He said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29, NIV)  The text reads they asked about what works (plural) because they were accustomed to fulfilling their long list of things to do to be holy.  Jesus answered saying the work (singular – the only work) God wants you to do is to truly place your confidence in Jesus.  Everything He wants us to do will flow out of fully trusting Him.

Today we can say we have placed our confidence in Jesus, but have we really?  Somewhere through the years having faith in Jesus has become totally separated from becoming His student or disciple.  Such an apprentice is eager to learn and then practice whatever Christ does.  This negligence of emulating the heart of Jesus is prevalent in all too many regular church attenders.  As has been said many times, church members already know far more than they practice.  This unmasks the large gap between today’s church attender and Jesus’ apprentices (disciples) in the early church.

We tell ourselves practicing what Jesus practiced is too hard, maybe impossible, so each of us determine how much space we will give between knowing and learning to literally live with the heart Jesus had.  To be certain, it IS impossible for us to live that kind of life in our own abilities—but then, wasn’t that precisely why the same Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus was promised to be given to each believer?  Our problem is not that we CANNOT live like our Master, it is that we want to control our lives instead of trusting in Jesus and all He and His Spirit have provided for us in order to be like Him.

The Christian walk is amazingly simple, genuinely believe/trust only in Him; lean not on our understanding.  We glibly say we seek the kingdom of God where He is the sovereign King, not us; yet we discount what we already know what our King has written for us to do—Love Him and Him alone with ALL that is within us.  Our biggest challenge is to deny our insistence to control our agenda in life and do our part to spend quality time talking with Him and obediently take the steps He sets before us.  We don’t have to figure everything out if He has everything well planned for us.  Yes, there will be mountains, dark valleys, potholes, and speedbumps but so what if He works everything for our good.  Can we just accept we won’t know what will be around the next corner as long as we have a firm connection with Him?   We can walk through it all with a deep sense of healthy confidence and well-being plus enjoy the rewards of walking with Him in His path. 

How is your life reflecting the single work of God—just daily resting in your trust in Him?

I love learning new insights, especially those found in the Bible that reveal more about God, His character, values and ways.  The danger in being too eager to learn new things is being so thirsty that I inadvertently drink dirty water without knowing it.  Therefore, I must confirm that any new insight is consistent with what is taught in the rest of Scripture.  Here is how this works.   

Until recently I discovered I had been misinterpreting Jesus’ admonition Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you (Matthew 7:6, ESV).  As so many others, I used to think this verse contrasted the worth of dogs and holiness as well as pearls and pigs.  To me Jesus was telling us not to waste giving a dog what is holy or a pig a pearl.  When I consider that interpretation with what God did in sending Jesus, most certainly a priceless pearl, to earth where He would be rejected and eventually crucified, I realized my interpretation totally misrepresented God’s heart towards the unholy, those who we might consider spiritual swine. 

After pointing out the difference between the spirit of the world and God’s Spirit and how a believer is given the Spirit of God, Paul wrote  … people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means (1 Corinthians 2:14, NLT2).  Among other things, Paul adds clarity to the heart of Jesus’ words about the dogs and pigs.  A pig’s inability to digest a pearl leads him to trample on the pearls, so a person without the Spirit lacks the capacity to digest spiritual truth leading him/her to turn on Christianity.  Both point out the folly of being insensitive to the capacity of others.

When Jesus sent His disciples to preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand, He told them  Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16, NLT2).  Doves are harmless and snakes are shrewd in that they wait for the right time to strike their prey.  His point is, pushing truth down someone’s throat does not represent Jesus’ heart.  Instead, prepare their mind and heart by framing questions or otherwise waiting until they something indicating their heart is open to hear the gospel.  Isn’t that exactly what Jesus did with the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria (John 4:7-26)? 

I wonder how many times I have inadvertently tried to force feed my young daughters, friends or acquaintances a spiritual pearl they were not capable to digest at that time.  Could it be some of our well-intended evangelistic outreaches have been misguided by our zeal to count souls saved instead of converted hearts?  Could it be what leads our children to leave the home and church at the same time is that while their minds understood the rationale of the gospel, their inner being was unable to absorb how the spiritual truth applied to them?   

I suspect too many Christians are either insensitive to one’s spiritual receptivity or are too concerned about a relationship to risk taking the opportunity the Spirit has opened to introduce them to Christ.  Holy Spirit, please help us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves in leading our friends to You and making disciples.  Help us to express Your patience and love for the lost as well as Your boldness as we lead others to You. 

We have all seen it.  A child throws a temper tantrum when a parent refuses their request for a toy, candy or to ride their trike in the street.  How does an adult respond to that type of display of manipulation?  We normally attribute it to their age.  So how do we respond when an adult expresses an adult version of manipulation because they do not get what they want at work, home, on the basketball court or from God? 

When our request is rejected, do we withdraw, become passive resistant, pout, get angry and say things we regret, or pick up our tools (toys) and go home in a huff?  I have not been too extreme, but I have felt the sting of tears and/or withdrawn for a time when God chose not to answer what I thought to be a fair and righteous request.  At other times I imagined an excuse for God not answering and asked again a few days later.     

Having made numerous personal sacrifices and done many miracles with God’s empowerment, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, the infamous apostle Paul asked that God to remove a “thorn in [his] flesh”, a relatively small matter.    What do you suspect Paul’s response was when God’s Spirit told him “No”?  We do know he asked two more times receiving the same answer.  God told him, …”My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Instead of being offended he took the lemon and made lemonade.  His words, Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  Have you tried that response when God said “No” to you? 

Before Jesus was to be crucified, He offered prayers and pleading, with a loud cry and tears … and he was heard because of his reverent submission (Hebrew 5:7).  Yet God did not give His very own Son what he wanted.  How did Jesus respond?  He continued His prayer saying yet not my will, but yours be done.  Have you had the courage to pray that?   

Some have said we should never pray that way after Jesus paid for our healing on the cross.  We only need to pray in faith believing.  Well, if that is true, Paul was out of line. 

Our response to God’s answer of “No” reveals the level of faith we have in the God we say we love and trust.   Real faith trusts in the love and wisdom of our Sovereign God who sees into the future which we cannot.  He also knows all the desirable benefits for denying our request.  For example, if He had answered Jesus’ request you and I would not have eternal life today! 

Yes, we are told to persist in making our petitions known to God.  However, that doesn’t imply we should arrogantly try to manipulate God into giving us what He knows is not best for His plan for others or ourselves.  We cannot allow our circumstances, no matter how painful or seeming unrighteous they may appear, to affect our faith and trust in our God who created the stars and gave each of them a name.  He has a much larger view of life and knows what is best for all concerned, including us.  Our responses to God reveal to our world what authentic faith in God looks like.  The faith of the three Hebrew young men still inspire us today because they proclaimed to the king, if our God does not deliver us [from the fiery furnace] it will not make the slightest difference, we will not worship another god—not even the desires or rationale of our flesh. [my translation]  What are your responses to God telling others about your faith in God.

All of us live at the mercy of our notions about God.  Those who embrace misleading information about Him are not likely to hear His whispers when making decisions that shape their life.  What is worse is they will miss out on a delightful, intimate relationship with the Almighty God and the complemented regular communication with Him. 

Too often we think we are not holy enough to hear His voice or the other extreme that He is like a heavenly vending machine just waiting to satisfy our desire for comfort, pleasure, health or wealth.  Or we want to hear God’s voice just to know what He wants us to do so we can placate Him.  All such thinking is about us rather than it is about being close friends with Him.  God has created us for intimate friendship with Himself.  A relationship that allows us to regularly hear His whisper is not focused on one’s self but on simply enjoying each other’s presence.  Hearing God regularly is possible only when one seeks to know His heart, values or ways. 

The Bible is not just collection of literary pieces for us to ritually read.  Peter compared it to an incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23-25).  Like a seed it is packed with God’s life-giving truth and principles.  When it is read, digested and obeyed it blossoms out into a living reproduction of Christ.  When a person exposes his/her hungry heart to know God in a more personal way, miraculous transformations appear in that person’s way of thinking and thereby way of life. 

The fact is God created us for a relationship with Him just as He created Adam and Eve before their fateful fall.  He longs for us to know Him more fully because we will then discover our deepest joy and peace and significance in life.  Isaiah described this divine desire this way.  Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God  (Exodus 29:45-46 (NIV).   Jesus’ name was Immanuel which means God with us.   John described the natural results of a close relationship by writing You are my friends if you do what I command (John 15:14 (NLT2).  Instead of stressing about doing and being what we imagine His will is for us, in close relationship we do it as naturally as we love our spouse or children. 

God’s Word is often pictured as food or bread that we hungrily eat.  It is like the chemical continuation of life.  This assimilation happens as we reflect on His Word, or otherwise absorb it.  As the Spirit whispers to us, just hearing it brings fresh life, energy, confidence, joy and peace that the world can never give.  There are enough rich resources in His Word and the Spirit’s enlightenment to take care of all our spirit, soul and body for today and forever.

How close of a friend are you to God?  Have you found a way to know God through His Word, a way that results in commonly hearing His voice in your intuition?  Do you read His Word as one searching to know another facet of God and His ways, who you are in relationship with Him and what you need to do to honor and glorify Him in practical ways—in contrast to just marking something off your duty list?  Have you made the Bible a rendezvous experience with God and His life?  If not, when you decide to invest your time and passion into exploring the depths of the Bible God, you will discover a deep thirst springing up leaving you longing to know even more.  I know this is true because those very feelings are what have energized my passion to pursue knowing more of Him for decades.

I grew up hearing my dad pray but prayer still confused me for decades!  I practiced praying, read books (including the Bible) on it, participated in discussions about it and even later preached on it yet always had the sense there was more to it than I understood.   In recent decades I discovered meaningful prayer is a lot like communicating with your best friend.  It has two major components: words and intuitive connection.  

While words are important, prayer does not rise or fall on just words.  Jesus made that point in Matthew 6:7 where He debunked praying empty words.  Isaiah told the Jews When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen … (Isaiah 1:15b, NLT2).  When one’s heart is not in their prayer it irritates God.  That kind of praying reminds me of the proverbial conversation between a husband and wife.  The wife is talking, and the husband is reading the paper or watching TV and either grunts out an uh hu or speaks a few words if he hears her ask a question.  The wife is certainly aware that type of interaction can hardly be classified as communication.     

When you are communicating with your best friend you are engaged in what is being said—or in whatever you are experiencing together.  Guys particularly can sit in a car, on a rock or be working on a project together rarely looking at each other yet feeling like they are communicating with each other.  As important as words are, they alone don’t make a prayer. 

The second and most vital element of prayer is your intuition or inner being.  When you reach out with that part of your being, there is an indescribable connection with God that is far deeper than words.  At this level of engagement, you are so aware of God it is as though He is present with you whether driving a car, walking on the treadmill, working on a computer or kneeling. 

When you sense within you that God is present, whether pouring out your emotions, asking Him questions, expressing gratitude or making a request, you are best positioned to feel His heart and hear whispers.   It is then that your inner being will experience a sense of relief and well-being as well as an assurance you have met with God.  

While I have such delightful times with God when He whispers to my inner being, they occur in any variety of settings.  The most common time I sense I am communicating with Him is when I am sitting at a computer reflecting on a Bible word or passage.  Perhaps I can best liken it to having an ah ha moment.  At times the revelation brings such excitement while typing words pouring out of that conversation that I have to find my wife and share it with her.  Normally it was something He whispered to me about Himself, His values or His word.    For me there are times it seems God doesn’t show up and I feel like David who asked O LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? (Psalm 10:1, (NLT2).   However, by continuing to practice prayer, I’ve found I come to agree with David’s encouraging report, You will listen, O LORD, to the prayers of the lowly; you will give them courage (Psalm 10:17, GNB).  The same will be true for everyone.  I so want each person to find a way to pray so each will experience the indescribable satisfaction of engaging with our Heavenly Father who desires to connect with each of His children.

Louie Giglio’s Sermon/video “Indescribable”, stamped an indelible mark in my aging memory.  His stunning pictures of the stars, galaxies and descriptions of space overwhelmed me and still does to this day.   The earth, where we live, is a small planet revolving around a star called the sun which has a volume 1.3 million times that of the earth. There are stars a million times brighter than the sun. There are about a hundred billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, which is one hundred thousand light years across. (A light year is six million, million miles.) The sun travels about 155 miles per second, and so it would take two hundred million years to make a single revolution on its orbit in the Milky Way. There are millions of other galaxies besides ours.

Just to think He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! (Psalms 147: 4-5, NLT2)  Imagine looking over the unique distinctives and then assigning a corresponding name to each puppy, sheep, rabbit or a rancher’s cattle.  God’s Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence evident in all this makes me feel like one molecule on this planet earth.  No wonder David wrote what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him ((Psalm 8:4, ESV)?  Psalm 139:6 reads Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand (NLT2)!  I have asked that very question MANY times.  It seems like foolish arrogance to imagine we can impress this God with our perfect church attendance or daily devotions, the large donations we give, or the hours we work to serve others.   

Now take time to ponder this.  In Psalm 147, notice the words before and after the Psalmist wrote the words of God’s unfathomable work in the universe. 

Psalm 147:3-6 (NLT2) 3 He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. 4 He counts the stars and calls them all by name. 5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! 6 The LORD supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

What might it say to you when you consider how the most powerful, knowledgeable, and everywhere present God–King of all Kings—would do that kind of thing; care enough about healing a brokenhearted and wounded individual or lovingly support a humble common man or woman?  President Biden could care less about a person like you or me who has vastly different core values or worldview but my God, who created and named every star, not only knows my name but cares about me, my wife and family as well as you and your family.  He cared even while we were still breaking His Holy laws!   

These reflections on the greatness, grace and mercy of our God inspire much needed hope today in the midst of the disheartening news on the political, economic and international scenes.   I urge you to take a chunk of quiet time to let these thoughts soak into your mind and inner being.  This morning, before writing this as I pondered this concept in my heart His presence so filled my inner being that I wept as I worshipped and felt so filled with hope for tomorrow.  I pray you too will encounter His powerful presence as you mediate on His greatness as well as His love for you.  It is our Almighty God’s desire for each of us to rest in who He is and His amazing love for each of us.  

The Christmas lights have been turned off, the excitement of gift exchanges has faded, and all the decor of Christmas has now been put away and moved into the shadows of the common.  What has happened to the Christ of Christmas?  While in that season, the warm complimentary words and songs we heard at least gendered some sentimental thoughts of Jesus’ birth stimulating the world’s thoughts and emotions at least several times a day.  But how often does our world think of Him now that the season has passed?  How might our thoughts have changed?

Even though chief priests and Jewish leaders were fully aware from Scripture the Messiah was coming and their spies reported a strange rumor of a baby’s birth, they dismissed it as a silly fantasy and carried on with their weekly routines.  King Herod may have heard in his daily briefings of this unusual event, but he was far too busy with governing issues to give it a second thought—that is until later when the wisemen showed up.  

In contrast, Jesus’ birth left Mary and Joseph and the shepherds in a continued state of awe, wonder and maybe confusion because they were invited to take part in the most dynamic event in history.  Twelve days after this event, because Simeon and Anna had been eagerly anticipating the coming Messiah, when they saw Him and the Holy Spirit revealed His identity, they experienced what would be the most ecstatic, life-changing  moment of their life.  They rejoiced that they were privileged to actually see the Son God had sent to this earth.    

Which of those Bible characters represents how you have responded since Christmas?  Was Christmas just another annual commercial event altered by our pandemic that upstaged His birthday?  Has COVID-19 and the uncertain political and economic status continued to dominate the talking points among your acquaintances?  Has it affected your planning for 2021 more than the Christ of Christmas?  Might you be a bit more like the Jewish leaders who knew all about the event but categorized it as another commercially high-jacked religious holiday?

I remind you, when things do not go as you had hoped, to pause and reflect on the fact the Christ of Christmas is still the sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is still in absolute control of all things.  Remember that also when the time comes when He offends you—yes, offends you!  How do suppose Mary felt when Simeon told her a sword will pierce your own soul too?   Too often we get caught up in fantasizing our blessed future and forget that Jesus said Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34, ESV).   He also said “…A slave is not greater than the master.  Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you…” (John 15:20, NLT2).  Those words offend but also bring hope knowing we will be His hand when those painful times come.  The Spirit also offends us when we cannot have what we think should be our right to have or do. 

Please keep the wide-angle view of the future in the forefront of your mind.  The Bible clearly teaches Christ is the King and we are not His peer, we are His devoted servants.  If we are serious about being a Christ-follower, we must also learn to live as He lived, a disciplined life obedient to His Father even to the point of the cross AND the glorious resurrection.  It is living that kind of life that results in the most abundant life possible.   Continue to remind yourself in these days following Christmas.

2020 is finally history!  It was a painful year in many ways.  The COVID-19 pandemic shook people’s trees around our world.  It is highly likely that from security, health, finances, to relationships whatever loose leaves or fruit that were going to fall did so last year.  Gratefully, the door to that year has now closed and we stand on the threshold of brand new and untouched opportunities.  Of course, only God knows what those God-given prospects will look like, yet it will be our response to them that can make or break our tomorrow.  Only by pushing our reset button will our perspective next year be rewarding.  But what might that look like?

Especially because of last year’s pain, our mental and emotional system can become a bit anxious, even a bit fussy about our relationship with God.  We are not sure we can trust Him with our tomorrow in our current frame of mind.  David offered us a remarkable word picture to consider when he wrote Lord, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me. Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, so my heart is quiet within me. (Psalm 131:1-2, GNB).  Wow!  What a perspective that is in stark contrast with all too many of us! 

Have you fretted as I have because you did not have your daily devotions instead of being content with being devoted?  Have you  worried because you have not prayed enough instead of making my life itself a prayer?  Too often my deep inward relationship with God is disturbed because I subconsciously feel I must constantly prove myself to Him.  Instead of having such contentment and peace, I think I must control my tomorrow instead of resting in God’s arms.  I suspect all of us may be more like the ancient Jews to whom God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen. (Isaiah 28:12, NLT2)  

My wife was diagnosed with a blood disease at the same time my dad went to his eternal reward.  In such a time I could say to God, this is not the rest You promised!  I am sure some of you readers are experiencing a far greater dark cloud than I.  Yet will it ever be that kind of rest if I fail to learn that a child does not need to earn its mother’s love or live in the constant fear of losing it.  My God has today and tomorrow well under control even though it does not always feel like it at the moment.  The child finds contentment in the simple relationship itself.  That is what I must emulate.

God is concerned with my being, not my doing. He is not as impressed with my regular church attendance as He is with my heart being a continual altar unto Him. He longs for me to be a light instead of striving to shine; to be a disciple instead of acting like one.  Jesus modeled this kind of relationship with Our Father and had deep internal peace no matter what adversary or adversity He faced.  He rested as a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms. 

When we are fussy about our relationship with our God, we will also be prickly in our relationship with others.  Even our efforts at trying to be holy will be thorny and others will avoid us instead of being drawn to us. 

Lord, help my attitude to be more like Moses whose face glowed after being with You but he was not even aware of it (Ex. 34:29).  May I be so captivated in my relationship with You that I only focus loving You and serving others in Your name and not myself.  Is that your desire as you face this new year?  What might be your next step that would move you in that direction?

How is it that each person naturally thinks differently than others?  My wife, Connie, has a different perspective on life than I.  We have found when we put our different perspectives together, we both have broader and a more complete view of life.  Alone it might be said that each of us would be blind in some area of our life.  Only because of Connie does our house look so warm and attractive.  If I were decorating the house it would look very stark.  We need each other for that to happen.  I am sure the source of these differences relate to a variety of factors, the strongest being our personalities and set of natural talents we have been given by our God. 

This does not work exactly the same in spiritual perception.  Many are more like spiritual zombies; they are alive but virtually dead when it comes to spiritual things.  The apostle Paul explained The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14, NIV).   Sadly, instead of understanding this unique difference, each tends to become angry with the other, some more so than others.  This is especially clear when one tries to convince the other of how wrong, or foolish, they are in the decisions they make.

 A remarkably similar phenomenon is clear within the group of those who have experienced a spiritual regeneration.  In this case the analogy of visual blindness might be a better illustration.  Most of us have different degrees of blindness.  Some see a spiritual truth while it does not even cross another person’s mind.  Again, because they see things differently, they can end up becoming judgmental of each other.  The Bible refers to this as blindness as well as variations of belief.  A person who has a closer or more intimate relationship with God has a stronger belief or faith and therefore is more willing to take risky steps to obey God. 

These variations of blindness or belief are influenced by past unresolved wounds, unforgiveness or bitterness, preferences or habits the Bible forbids, false teachings they have received, pride (vs humility), strong need to control, neglect to nurture the faith they do have because they neglect spiritual disciplines like Bible study and prayer, or other such distractions of life.  Jesus compared the variations of spiritual life with several types of soil in Mark 4:14-20.

The reality is every single believer has multiple spiritual blind spots.  Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely (1 Corinthians 13:12, NLT2)   As a person matures spiritually (not chronologically), the Holy Spirit continues to reveal more truth and thereby remove those blind spots.  This is the goal of every authentic believer. 

Do you desire to have the Holy Spirit open your eyes in your areas of blindness?  The minimal acceptability level of belief/faith is without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must (1) believe that he exists and (2) that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6, NIV).  The second qualifier is the most challenging therefore sobering because it is about relentlessly seeking to know God’s fullness in a more personal way.  The more you seek of Him the more you will have revealed to you.  I have found indescribable and energizing joy as He continues to whisper insights of who He is and His ways.  I have already experienced that pleasure at least two times this week!  The joy of the Lord truly can be our strength.