Open or Closed

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

OPEN OR CLOSED

Acts 28:23-31

23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

26 "'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." 27 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.'  

28 "Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"   30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

We have arrived at the conclusion of the Acts of the Apostles with Paul in Rome and having another conversation with the Jewish leaders, in fact, with more than the leaders, as we are told a larger number of people came to hear Paul’s views about the kingdom of God. He used their own knowledge of the Law of Moses and the Prophets to show them that Jesus was the Messiah. He tried to convince them, with some understanding of the truth and believing, while others just could not open their hearts and minds to see Jesus. This is always the challenge people face when they come face-to-face with the truth. People hear but never understand. They see but do not perceive, and their hearts are calloused, hardly hearing, with closed eyes, and not seeing the truth about Jesus. Because of the great mercy of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit who broke into our lives, softening the callous on our hearts, opening our ears and eyes so we could understand the gospel message, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, becoming born from above, a new person, a child of God. How can we not live with thanksgiving and a heart filled with gratitude toward God? Because we have eyes to see, and ears to hear, and we understand with our hearts, we have been healed. We have been healed from eternal death and have been given eternal life. When Paul explained everything, with his concluding remarks, the people could not agree; some believed, some did not. Is that the way of the church today? Is that the way of our hearts? Do we all agree on the one basic truth about Jesus? Is it possible that, in some sense, we have closed our hearts, ears, and eyes so that we only hear, see, and understand what we want to, keeping the rest of the truth closed off from us? If we think that might be possible, the question is why. Are we only willing to accept what makes us feel comfortable, sealing off that which would require us to change? Let us face life in Christ with open eyes, ears, and hearts, then we truly will be healed. Are we living open or closed?