From Adam and Eve, whose “eyes were opened, and they knew” (Gen 3:7) to Balaam when God “opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw” (Num 22:31) to Elisha’s servant when God “opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw” (2 Kings 6:17) to Lydia when “the Lord opened her heart to listen” (Acts 16:14) to the two disciples whose “eyes were opened, and they recognized him” (Luke 24:31) and finally to Jesus when “he opened [the disciples] minds to understand” (Luke 24:45), God has been and is in the business of “opening” our eyes, our hearts, and our minds to the truth of His work in and around our lives. Last week, I said our faith is about choice. God gave us a free will to choose what we believe and what we do. We Methodists, however, also teach “prevenient grace,” which says God’s grace goes before us and lays the groundwork and/or strategically highlights the contextual contours for our choice. But choice is not a once and done; choice is always an everyday experience. Every day we make choices about what we believe, what we say, what we watch, what we think, and what we do. In every one of these choices, God’s grace is at work seeking to “open” our eyes, hearts, and minds to believe and do the right thing. But like Pharaoh, many of us have “hardened our heart” to God’s grace. When is our heart “opened” and when it is “hardened”? When do we see with “open” eyes or “blinded” ones? When is our mind “opened” or “closed”? This Sunday we will examine these questions. Join us in-person or Life via Facebook at 11:00.
Luke 24:45: “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.”