Spiritual blindness and Divine Revelation

 

How many movies have a scene where someone is in darkness and another person can see something but not what or who — and they cry out, “Reveal yourself”? The plots of many mysteries are like that too. The detective cannot discern the person responsible for the crime and keeps searching for clues to their identity.

God is like that, not a criminal trying to stay hidden, but a person that must reveal Himself; otherwise, we cannot see Him, no matter our ability to be detectives. I remember how I read the Bible for more than fifteen years and could not understand it, much less see God because of it. However, that wonder-filled Word of God is one way that He reveals Himself. The other and clearest revelation is the One whose birth we celebrate on the 25^th of this month.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

Not that everyone agrees about the identity of Jesus Christ. Google says there are nearly 4000 recognized versions of religions. About two-thirds or more of those do not recognize that God spoke to us through His Son. Why is that? Simply put, faith in Christ means God calling us to stop putting faith in ourselves and trust Him totally. All other religions stress human achievement and self-effort. Most of them look at Christianity being the same, but it differs in several major ways.

One of them is the discovery of God. As today’s devotional says, Christianity teaches that we cannot find God because we “live in a box enclosed within the walls of time and space and God is outside the box.” We might sense He is there yet cannot catch a glimpse of Him. Our sin makes us spiritually blind and our ‘goodness’ fails, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

As the devotional says, our only hope is for God to enter the box, which Hebrews 1:1–2 declares He did —first to the OT prophets as David said: “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:2) Jeremiah added, “Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.’” (Jeremiah 1:9)

Then He came in the person of Jesus Christ whom the NT calls: “Emmanuel, meaning God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) And the Apostle John said,

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth . . . No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:14; 18)

There is another mystery regarding the discovery of God. Those who think they can do it without God revealing Himself to them really don’t want to find Him, as least not like He is. They want a genie in a bottle, or a cosmic good luck charm, or to quench their guilty conscience. At first, I wanted Him to make my life more comfortable and successful. Yet, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” (Romans 3:10–11)

PRAY: Jesus, You could have left me in my sin and ignorance, but You walked into my life and revealed everything I needed to know to have redemption and fellowship with You. What a day that was. I’m so thankful to have the privilege of studying Your Word and living by Your leading, yet the greatest joy is in knowing You and every day increasing in that knowledge because You continue to reveal Yourself.

PONDER: Read 1 Corinthians 2:6–16 and think how to pray for those who do not know God.