Dear Explorer,
Read John 12:37-43
I don't fully understand these verses from Isaiah that indicate that God had shut the eyes of the crowds so that they could not receive Jesus. But this I know; He is good and righteous and worthy of our praise!
Isaiah says that their eyes were blinded, and their hearts hardened. I believe that this was a result of their rejection of God and their rejection of Jesus. I don't think it was a permanent closing. Maybe he temporarily closed their eyes so that Jesus would be crucified. I don't know.
Now, is it okay to not fully understand?
I certainly hope so. My God is bigger than I am, and His ways are so far advanced that no human could ever fully understand it all. What I must do when I don't understand something is to place it in His hands and He can either explain it to me – or tell me that I'm not ready to understand it – so I just have to trust Him with it.
We know that not everyone's eyes were closed because many came to believe in Jesus during this last week of His life. Even some of the leaders believed in Him. But… What is the “but”?
Re-Read Matthew 10:32-33
What did Jesus say here about “secret followers”?
Restate John 12:43 in your own words.
Is that a problem today?
Is that a problem for you?
It's a problem for me! Sometimes I feel God tugging at my heart for me to share something with someone – and my first thought is: “Oh, I don't want them to get mad at me. I don't want to ruin my friendship with them.” Now I need to be sensitive and not share in a wrong place or time – but when I'm sure that God is prompting me – I need to be very mindful of this thought: Whose approval do I want? People's or God's?
But an even more serious problem is rejecting Jesus because we don't want to upset people around us. Whose approval is most important to you? Important enough to reject eternal life?
In His service, dale
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