"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
Matthew 13:16-17
Understanding the things of God and His Kingdom is something that doesn’t come naturally to us. The Spirit of God must open our eyes and give us the ability to understand these things.
Before this happens we may read the Bible and find that our eyes cross and we fall asleep. Or we might find the stories interesting, even fascinating - but not understand what the Lord is saying to us. We’re likely to misapply what we think we understood, until that moment when He turns the lights on in our hearts and gives us that understanding.
But when our hearts are made aware of our sin and the need for repentance and forgiveness, and then we flee to Jesus for that forgiveness, then the Holy Spirit continues to enlighten our hearts through His Word with the understanding and wisdom to apply it in our own life.
That moment of conversion, of new birth, when it all becomes real and our hearts respond by God’s grace, makes all the difference. For some it happened at such a young age that we don’t remember a time when the Bible didn’t “make sense,” and we wonder how people can hear or read and not respond. For others it didn’t come until much later in life and the joy of being able to read and understand it is still a new experience.
But to all of us who “get it,” the Lord says,“blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” We whose hearts are warmed and enlightened by God’s Word are blessed.
Lord, thank You for opening my eyes and ears, for enlightening my heart and revealing Yourself to me, for giving me understanding and applying it to my life. What a precious gift! Don’t let my heart ever grow dull again. Keep me from grieving Your Holy Spirit. Keep me close, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles