If you could see Jesus perform His many miracles, do you think you’d have an easier time believing in Him? If you could walk with Him for a while, hear his teachings, do you think your doubt would simply fade? According to the biblical record, this is not the case. Today, we see that most who saw Jesus’ miracles still didn’t believe.
In the time of the prophet Isaiah, a vision came of God and His seraphim in the temple. Isaiah witnessed it, which by biblical law means he was doomed, for nobody can look on the face of God and live. But Isaiah was spared and made clean, and went on to give us perhaps the most famous statement of submission in the whole bible: “Here am I, Lord. Send me.”
But while we regularly hear this much of the story, we seldom continue reading to hear God’s response. And what we find are the very words Jesus references today.
“Go and tell this people:
‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.
Make the heart of this people calloused make their ears dull and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.'”
And doesn’t this just describe today’s culture, too? We hear everything (thanks, social media) but understand nothing (thanks, social media). We see it all but seldom if ever perceive truth. We are calloused and dull, and far too often, our eyes are closed.
But what if we weren’t? What if we worked hard to understand what we hear rather than just the old “in one ear and out the other”? What if we worked to perceive what we saw, whether read or watched? Might we regain our sensitivity to the Spirit, sharpen our ears and open our eyes to the work of God around us? Might we see, hear, understand, and finally be healed?
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