John 12.40 “He has
blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with
their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”
– St. John quoting Isaiah
What do you do around someone you really don’t like? I’ll
bet you clam up. I’ll bet you avert your gaze. I’ll bet you get all weird. I’ll
bet you try to act all calm and natural, but insider you’re all stirred up. I’ll
bet you’re uncomfortable. It’s what we do. The other person may not even
acknowledge us, but inside we’re all weird. It’s what they do to us because we
let them.
I understand the concept of letting someone live rent-free in my head – I do it all the
time. I want to control things and can’t, and, well, there ya go: I get all weird inside. The problem with
being weird inside is what happens outside. Isaiah said: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can
neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I
would heal them.” When God shows up, people get weird.
I find it interesting how the tense of the verse changes
from ‘He’, to ‘I’. God really cares about His creation but His creation gets
really weird when He shows up. They clam up. They avert their gaze. They try to
act all calm and natural, but inside their all stirred up. They think: What does He want, and why can’t He ‘want it’
from someone else!? Why does He want it from me!?
We humans have such a high opinion of ourselves and we
can’t believe that God actually wants
to be a part of our living. The funny part is God doesn’t push Himself on
anyone; the reality is: it’s God’s party. We didn’t ask to be invited, we
don’t like the invitation, but we had no control over it and now we pout because
God has given us life, and we’d like it if He’d just leave us alone! (Sounds
like we’re the ones with the problem, not God.) Weird inside is weird.
God does funny things to people just by showing up. We
have such opinions of Someone we don’t really even know. And man, do we want to
control Him! No wonder we get so weird.
And all God wants is to free us from our weirdness. He
created us without asking our permission and has given us life and this bizarre
thing called free-will, and He just wants to be friends. But what reaction He
gets from the creatures He’s created with free-will.
What’s truly remarkable is some take Him up on His offer
and He heals them. He makes them different. He opens their hearts to realms
unknown to the average Joe who wants nothing to do with Him. God is remarkably
different than we want Him to be. And He heals those who turn to Him. He drives
some nuts just by showing up; but He changes others just by showing up. Our God
is an awesome God.
The world will be what the world will be, and men will
believe what men believe; but some will turn to God and ask for friendship, and
receive from Him abundantly! They will turn, and He will heal them…
Father, You are
weird to many, and loved by some. You don’t make anyone do anything, but You do
have an effect on the fearful and doubting. I pray that somehow, some way, the
people I know that fear You would turn and find You enchanting, engaging, and a
Friend. We all need friends, but none is better than You! Amen
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