An Eternal Perspective

“And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive… But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.”  Matthew 13:14,16

Jesus’ disciples asked Him why He spoke to the crowds of people in parables, which we define as earthly stories with heavenly or spiritual meanings.  Jesus didn’t “beat around the bush” with His answers to the questions that were asked of Him.  He always answered truthfully and in a way that made the disciples and those who were genuinely interested in what He had to say to think deeply about His answer.  For this particular question from His disciples, He explained to them the privilege allowing them to be the recipients of the mysteries of God’s kingdom.  Because the people weren’t ready to receive the deep knowledge of God’s plan for redemption, He chose to not allow the multitudes to have the privileges afforded to Jesus’ disciples.  God reveals Himself and His truths on His timetable.

Earlier, the Pharisees had blasphemously accused Jesus of working miracles by the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24) resulting in a spiritual line of demarcation being drawn between Jesus and the majority of the nation of Israel.  A “line of demarcation” denotes an act of limitation or separation between two opposing entities.  Those on the wrong side of this spiritual dividing line would not have the privilege of understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.  On the other hand, the disciples were given the gift of comprehension of God’s word because they would need this knowledge later as they carried the gospel to other lands.  The great majority of the nation of Israel was too worldly minded to be spiritually attuned to Christ’s purpose and mission.

When folks refuse to listen to the truth, they are still responsible for and subject to the truth.  People ignore warnings all the time.  It has been proven that smoking causes cancer, yet people still continue to fill their lungs with smoke and nicotine, I suppose, thinking that perhaps they will escape the harmful results.  People drive under the influence of alcohol which deceives their judgment and slows their reflexes.  We hear about people getting hurt or killed on the highways frequently due to someone driving drunk.  But folks continue to drink and drive, I suppose, thinking that they can control an automobile while under the influence.  People have been warned for centuries that they will be held accountable for their sins if they do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, yet they ignore the most important message that they will ever hear.   It’s not that they haven’t heard these warnings; they just haven’t really listened.  They say that “ignorance is bliss”, but not in all cases.

I read a comment pertaining to a political article I saw on line.  The reader wrote “Things look different with an eternal perspective.”  I thought, how true that is.  Those who know Christ look at world events and family situations quite differently than those who do not claim Christ as Lord and Savior.  Like the disciples, Christians are given the privilege of having spiritual insight unavailable to the world which is not something to boast about, but something for which to be mighty thankful.