Otherwise

11.22.11

Matthew 13.14,15 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

   “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;

   they hardly hear with their ears,

   and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

   hear with their ears,

   understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ NIV

Trust me, it’s not because God didn’t want them to see or hear, it’s because they couldn’t and they kept trying to…

Relationships are hard work, but they are for a reason: the condition of our souls makes them hard work. Few people I know of have close, close friends. I know of many who have pals and chums and people around whom they are comfortable – but I of few who would fall into the close friend category. The reason is, close friends are those who will disagree with us yet accept us despite the disagreement. Close friends are those who will rebuke us because they know that such action is sometimes what we need and their voice is one we’ll accept. A close friend is one who sees our potential and nurtures that potential but doesn’t baby us or excuse our bad behavior or poor choices. A close friend is someone we’ll turn to when we run out of resources.

A close friend is one who has gained access to our heart and has become a voice of reason when we won’t listen to anyone else. Pals and chums are in it for what they can get out of it – a close friend is in it for the long haul. Pals and chums are in it to feed their own need, a close friend will actually pray for us and intercede for us at our worst. Jonathan, in 1 Samuel 18, was such a friend to David. It doesn’t say David was one back… A close friend loves us but doesn’t necessarily need us – that’s why they are so valuable.

When Jesus quoted Isaiah 6.9-10 He was making the point that the relationship between men and God had become strained. It wasn’t that God gave up, it’s that man quit keeping the appointments. In mens minds, God quit being a Close Friend to them because they became enthralled with their pals. Pals will tell you what you want to hear and when they don’t you can write them off as misinformed. A close friend seems to know the condition of our hearts and loves us anyway. Jesus quoted what He did because they had become what they were: distant from God; and looking everywhere for justification except from Him. Pals are in it for the party – God is in it for eternity.

I always get hung up on the word otherwise: Otherwise they might see [Me] with their eyes, hear [Me] with their ears, understand [Me] with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. They would come to their senses and come back to their Close Friend for help, healing, and restoration. Because otherwise they’ll just continue down the path they’re on without Me to their destruction…