11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. ~ John 1:11
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ~ John 3:19
For 400 years, the Jews experienced a silence from God. There was no prophet. There was no word from the LORD. There was only silence. Then suddenly, John appeared on the scene, and then Jesus, God in the flesh, walked the path John cleared for Him. How did the Jews react? John the Apostle wrote that Jesus came to His own, but His own rejected Him. Jesus adds that they rejected Him because they loved the darkness more than the light in John 3:19. 400 years of silence had caused their hearts to grow cold, their ears to grow deaf, and their eyes to grow blind. The Messiah they had waited for from the time of Abraham was there in their midst, but they couldn’t recognize Him.
The Church is the same way today. We’ve been waiting for the return of Christ for the past 2,000 years. We’ve been waiting for Him to come to redeem us from the wickedness of this world so that we might be with Him forever and ever. As time passes by and with each and every new generation, the heart of the Church grows colder and colder. The eyes of the Church grow blinder and blinder. The ears of the Church grow deafer and dealer. We can no longer differentiate between good and evil. We even go as far as to desire to change the very Word of God in order to fit our own beliefs, wants, and desires.
Jesus is coming back real soon. Even if He doesn’t return in our lifetime, though I believe He will, we are each just one single breath away from eternity. Each breath we take is a gift from God, prolonging our lives. It’s His mercy and grace that keeps our hearts beating. Tomorrow is promised to no one. We can’t afford to allow our hearts to grow cold, our eyes to grow blind, and our ears to grow deaf. Where we spend eternity is solely up to what we do on this earth. If we deny Jesus with our words or actions, then He will deny us. We can’t afford to waste a single moment loving the darkness instead of loving the light.
Dear LORD, help me to not grow cold. Give me ears to hear, eyes to see, a mind to understand, and a heart willing to follow You regardless of how much it costs. Teach me to love You. Strengthen me so that I might not grow weary of doing good. That I might not lose hope. That I might not lose faith. That I might dwell in Your loving presence forever. Give me a spirit of discernment that I might know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness, no matter what those around me say. Teach me to follow Your voice and Your voice alone. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
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