Thoughts and Prayers V

...for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

 - From Luke 6

Thoughts are good. We want to be thoughtful. It's better to think of someone, than not. It is better to consider those that are hurting, than to ignore them.

Prayers are good. Even atheists understand the value of reflection, and connection with your surroundings. An atheist can understand that, in a culture of violence and fear . . . the best solution might very well be to get people to just stop . . . reflect . . . and think of others. Prayer is like that.

Of course we need more thoughts and prayers. But I'm afraid we really need it from those that mock it. Do we want the tensions in our generation to subside? Of course we do.

Christ implored his followers, to be kind to those that hate them. He never once advocated resistance to the government. He did not talk about politics. He focused on people one to one. Real love is best practiced, perhaps only practiced, in person. Anything else seems like posturing, in order to project some desired image. 

Because, Christ affirmed: God is kind, even to the wicked. 

And I posit, that a young man's rage may be partly due to the inflamed culture where people refuse to be kind to one another. 

To be defeated, spiritual jiu jitsu has to be employed against evil. Resistance just hardens the resolve on the other side. Defeat evil, not with more evil . . . but with anti-evil. 

 . . . which is love.

If someone offers "thoughts and prayers," let your response not be disdain. Let it be a show of support, and the consideration, on your own part, that perhaps you should think, and pray, too. 

Thoughts and Prayers IV

...their minds are set on earthly things.

 - From Philippians 3

What are "thoughts and prayers," really?

Paul, the Apostle, wrote to the Philippians. He urged them to be of one mind, to remember the fundamental things, the concepts that they all learned in the first place. They needed to be reminded, for the same reasons that we need to be reminded: because we forget, and we are easily influenced by whatever is popular, current, or "cool." We want to be liked.

So if our initial thought is that we have to keep the Church of God in one mind, i.e., thinking the same "thoughts," then that's a good thing.

Therefore, when half of the believers go join up with some political movement, and make that their priority, and then agree with non-believers that say "Thoughts and prayers don't work," then they have broken our covenant with one another; the covenant being, that we promise to hold ourselves together.

We have lost the game already, if we cannot even stay of one mind.

If your thoughts are not on Christ, then they are on earthly things. And what are "earthly things"?

• Whatever I want. That's an earthly thing. The earth is defiantly a place where people put their own selfish needs first. I just want myself to feel good . . . and really, I don't care about anybody else.
• Whatever feels good. "Their god is their belly." Temporary, immediate, and selfish appetites are earthly things. Yes, we all want to do what feels good. That doesn't mean it's good for others, and may even be harmful for others. We're all in this together, and we have to think of other people.
• Obsession with death. Death is an earthly thing. It is sin, and it's evil. Wild mass shooters are earthly. They are the ultimate in earthly. But rage goes along with being earthly, and if your response to evil is to become enraged against your political opposition, rather than against the perpetrator of a crime, you may be thinking in too earthly of a way. 

If your thoughts are on life: life for all . . . then they are not on earthly things. The earthly person wants revenge, and wants to do something . . . NOW. But life and death are eternal matters. It has taken humanity millennia, during which we have obsessed about life and death, and have not mastered either of them, yet. You don't solve it in one day, or as the result of one tragedy.

I often wonder: If a person really . . . really . . . believed in eternal life, would they care so much about politics? We'll wake up one day and laugh at our immature insecurities.

Let's go beyond thinking about the victims and their survivors. Pray for them, help them, yes. But put your thoughts also on what you can do about it. Don't call your representative. Help your neighbor! Don't participate in a march. Visit someone in prison!! Don's sign a petition. Become a Big Brother or Sister to a fatherless child!!!

Your thoughts should be on your response. What will you do?

And then, the prayers will take care of themselves.

Thoughts and Prayers Pt III

...a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

 - From Psalm 51

The Man or Woman of God is a solitary soul. He ascends a mountain, alone, to pray and commune with the Father. She finds herself alone, the only one serving, at the Master's feet. He is laughed at and mocked by scores of false prophets. She is the only one left in Jericho, with the desire and a plan to help the Hebrews take it. 

The LORD, Himself, was a Man of Sorrows. By the time He set his sights on Jerusalem, his crowd had dwindled down to a dozen or so . . . and even they dispersed when it got real.

An angry mob stirred itself up against Him, and delivered Him to the Cross.

The Crossroad always starts with a crowd . . . but it ends with a Single Person. The world's solutions; it's causes, it's passions . . . always start with a crowd, but ends with an overwhelming gang, that feeds on its own anger. 

Thoughts and Prayers, for public consumption, are meaningless. But one devout and sincere Woman of God, secretly locking herself away in her study, can think about the victims of a mass shooting, and then say a prayer for them. Yet without drawing any attention to herself, she will have done more than twelve nightly newscasts. 

Thoughts and prayers for the victims do work! How do we know they don't? Do we actually go out and ask the survivors: "Did prayer work?" We don't know.

But how many people offering "Thoughts and Prayers" actually do so, on behalf of prospective shooters? Do we pray for them? Aren't they the ones we should be praying for? And how do we know that such prayers haven't already turned down a score of prospective shooters?

We don't know.

This idea of "Thoughts and Prayers" may have become the rallying cry for an angry mob . . . the way that "Give us Barabbas!" ushered in History's greatest crime. It can be anything . . . when it comes to mob mentality.

But God Himself occupies a very quiet and private place . . . the heart of a devout man or woman. Thoughts and Prayers may be uttered there. 

And they'll do worlds of good.

And nobody will ever know it. 

Thoughts and Prayers Pt II

...  call upon him while he is near.

 - From Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55 is a great passage full of optimism and promise. 

It is certain: God's plan will be completed. His Word is like seed. He speaks, and it goes forth. It is planted in the ground, in a process that is disruptive to the soil. At the micro level, the ground is churned up, violently, causing havoc to countless microscopic ecosystems. Rain waters come, and choke out billions of lives while enriching the soft loam. What kills over here, brings life over there . . . yet even the organisms killed benefits from the continuous cycle.

The sun begins to provide it's energy to the budding life, which enlivens the growth process and creates new essential nutrients. But in so doing, the soil is dried and hardened, which makes life impossible for other members of the biome . . . for now.

But the end is life . . . Life. Universal, neverending Life. To understand God's plan, just look at the rain cycle. Or really, anything in Nature. It is one way in which He instructs us.

Thoughts and Prayers work. But Isaiah pleads with us to ask God, and seek Him out, when He's near. This means there are times when He is not near. Our hearts have to be ready and open. Our ears must be listening, and our hands and feet must be ready to go where He leads, and do what He directs.

Just as God can be near to a person, so can He be near to a nation. 

Is our nation open to God? Would He draw near to us now, when we need Him the most? Or do we hear, more clearly, the words of people like Neal deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, or that super popular high school teacher that always hashtags "Thoughts and Prayers don't work"?

Who are we hearing? deGrasse Tyson feels welcome and empowered across the fruited plane. 

But does God?

Even if God is not near . . . let us at least act as if He is. Because where He is, or whatever He is doing . . . His plan is clearly, constantly, being rolled out. 

When?

Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?"

 - From Matthew 25

The first meaningful division of humanity will occur at the return of Christ. Every denomination or partisan group, prior to that time, is pointless. In the end, there will be just two groups of humanity: The eternal ones, and the finite ones. 

The passages is fraught with multiples layers and colorings. It makes a variety of points with just a few phrases:

• Christ places His family in priority over others
• There's a right, and a left
• Well, there is one division that matters prior to judgment: "nations."
• It is implied that one nation may be more favored than another
• Caring for others, is paramount

This visiting of prisoners and the sick, of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, of welcoming strangers . . . this is serious stuff, and when the chips are down, in both testaments, it really is the only thing God really cares about, when it comes to behaviors and attitudes that will save you.

And when you're taking care of the people right there in your midst: your family, your neighbors . . . you won't have time for politics, or social justice, or being part of some mass movement.

The people on the left (the goats), ask Christ when He was sick, in prison, etc., and they didn't take care of Him?

You see . . . those on the left had reason to believe that they had, indeed, cared for Christ. They built him a big church. They ran programs in the community. They voted for tax increases so that the poor could be helped.

But Christ asks "Did you do it for the least of these?" In other words . . . did you show love for the really invisible ones? The unattractive ones that are really hurting? The ones that don't make the national news? Or was it all for show? Were you happy letting others do your dirty work for you, as long as you got the credit for having antagonistic bumper stickers?

Nobody knows the ones that are really serving Christ . . . because they do it quietly, in the shadows, and they don't get drawn into stupid arguments. 

Don't go into judgment day not sure whether or not you actually helped people.

Real people.

With real needs.

With a personal touch. 

God's Zone

  . . . in order to bring you to God. 

 - From 1 Peter 3

It is very important to God, that you be in a place where He can fellowship with you. 

God is a very happy person. He loves life. He loves creation. He loves the buoyancy of being with other intelligent and wonderful beings like Himself. 

People like us.

We have been fearfully and wonderfully made. We are in God's own image. He wanted people that He could relate to, and that could relate to Him. And He wanted there to be a growing, and infinite number of beings like Himself, to make the possibilities for wonder, joy and fulfillment to be infinite 

We all know what it's like to be part of a great team, or in a group of friends, or a family, that is highly functional. In sports it's called "being in the zone." In the world of music, one writer called it "The Inner Game of Music."

There is magic when we do things beyond ourselves, when we connect with others into new synergies. And when we reach for the highest point of knowledge, achievement, or morality, and attain it. It's a great feeling. You feel more alive than ever, and it is indescribable.

God wants that for us. Imagine being in God's Zone. 

So Christ went through an awful lot, to get us there. His job was to "bring us to God."

Wow. He had to go out, and in some cases, drag us to God, kicking and screaming. Because, for whatever reason, we prefer the pain, and misery, and death, of being apart from God. 

Whatever.

Some people choose the run away from God . . . towards death and frustration. 

In God's zone, there are no childish adults ruining a good thing. There are no stupid arguments. No broken families. No unfriending. No idiotic political campaigns. No disease and no discord over immunizations or organic diets. 

No forms of entertainment that glorify sex and violence. No people desperate to change who they are, neither surgically nor chemically.

In God's Zone, there are no wild shooters. 

Christ did what he had to do, to bring us there. 

Thoughts and Prayers

...save your servant who puts his trust in you.

 - From Psalm 86

Here, the Psalmist seems solitary . . . speaking to the Lord, one to one. There are no expansive hymns of praise or worship to the Lord of the Universe. Just a set of statements, simple affirmations of trust in the Lord that watches over me. Not "us," but "me." This Psalm is very personal.

Is that selfish? No, I think not. We cannot control what goes on in other people's heads and hearts. And, as on commercial flights that are in trouble, you take care of yourself first. Only then, are you equipped to make others safe.

There's a natural principle in there: The best way to save the most lives, is to first save your own.

Now this does not negate acts of heroism and sacrifice. Notice the point is to save the most lives.

Salvation works like this: You cannot bring others to Christ (save them) until you have come to Christ (save yourself). Because you have to be a pathfinder. People are more willing to follow someone else, someone that is between them and danger.

When we say "thoughts and prayers" after every great disaster, both natural and man-made, we are inevitably met with a wave of ridicule. "Thoughts and prayers don't save lives."

But, what if I pray as the Psalmist is, here? What if I thank God for protecting me, for guiding me, and saving me? This is both a recognition of God's authority, as well as an equipping of myself, to go in and face danger; to put myself between the danger and others.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims" should also be a pledge and confirmation that I am ready and willing to save lives from now on.

Lord in Heaven - You are God, and You are in charge.

You are greater than the worst disaster to strike humanity.

Thank you, God, for saving me, and protecting me, today. Thank you for protecting my family.

I pray for the victims today - - - unfortunate souls that got in the way of Satan's evil, and paid the ultimate price. 

I pray for their families. 

Lord, place an image of suffering families, in my mind, and on my heart. 

Let me not look past them, when I come across them in public.

Let me not ignore the words of pain and loss shared with me.

Father - - - if there is a young man somewhere, bitter and angry about life; about loss, and rejection; if there is a desperate and lonely person out there, who is starting to believe that the only answer, for him, is to lash out violently at others that seem more happy than he, and he wants to give them what he thinks they deserve, then, please . . . 

Send that young man to me . . . and fill my spirit with the presence of Christ. In my loving and caring response to him. may he see Christ, and may he lay both his defenses, and his weapons, down. 

Father, You have spared me, so that perhaps I can be Your agent in the world, to catch these falling souls and point them back to You.

Open my eyes to see the pain, the hurt, the loneliness, the sadness, and the desperation in the souls of Your most troubled children. Place me between my loved ones and danger. 

In Jesus Name . . . Amen.

Ash

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight . . . 

 - From Isaiah 58

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Ash Wednesday!

The two days have not collided, since 1945! 

Godly Love is the highest form of love. It is based on reason, and a willful choice, to serve others, without qualification.

Romantic Love is an intense emotion. It is a feeling. It stirs up everything from rage to ecstasy within us. Considering the problems in society today, and our obsession with the physical and instantaneous expression of "love" . . . is it any surprise?

Ash Wednesday is about sacrificing all of that selfish stuff. We turn off the instant gratification, and turn on the eternal view. We control our hunger and appetites. We make sure that we are making the path easier for others. 

What a juxtaposition!!

Our fasting . . . our acts of sacrifice, are pointless, if we continue to give in to our fleshly, instant expressions of emotion. 2018 is a year of vain and constant quarrels and fights. Isaiah may have seen a glimpse of our generation, when he was inspired to write these words.

Don't talk about sacrifice and selflessness . . . and then turn around and engage in bitter debate in social media. Or at least. . . . don't put divisions within the Church on display for the world to see. The Church must be aligned within itself, and not divided down political lines!

Real Love is not about a tingly feeling. It is more about sacrifice and the provision of the most basic needs of humanity. 

Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day. Which one is really about love?

Mock

...and do not make your heritage a mockery...

 - From Joel 2

The sample from Scripture, today, says it all. It's almost like nothing else is needed. 

But these blogs are a desired starting point for conversation. If something jumps out at me . . . a concept that people would usually just pass over . . . well, those are the ones I want to escalate.

When it gets around to a culture, or a nation, or a legacy . . . or a heritage . . . being mocked; well, that can't be good. 

I think of the system in which I grew up; a system in which, despite whatever happened between us and other peoples, we did not mock them. Our official practice was always to respect other cultures.

But when the other cultures begin to mock us.... Mockery is just not a good thing. It's never good. Mockery is so bad, that it even brings down the status of the mockers. 

Children mock. Hypocrites mock. People without a sound logical footing, mock.

Intelligent, wise, loving people do not mock.

Mockery is a very bad thing. In some ways, it's worse than being conquered. A conqueror can still treat the vanquished culture as having value. 

In America today, two bitter sides mock the other. 

One side, though, joins our adversaries in mocking our own culture. 

People mock their own culture, their nation, their flag, their community, their neighbors, their family . . . their flesh and blood.

And in so doing, they mock themselves. 

There's a song by The Imperials: Something's Wrong With the World.

Look at the way people mock each other, and how they mock the very idea of honor and freedom. 

Something's wrong, Exhibit A.

Secret

... your Father who sees in secret ...

 - From Matthew 6

There's so much to unpack in these few verses from Matthew 6. It's the famous passage about doing your good works secretly. Don't make a show of your piety.

I thought about making a connection to Lincoln's Birthday, which is today. His professions of faith, and good deeds were done with a humble spirit. 

And then I thought about emphasizing the word "hypocrite," which is overused in our times. It seems that only hypocrites, themselves, ever accuse others of hypocrisy.

But recently I have been studying a mental health condition called "IPD," or "Immature Personality Disorder." It is a concept, and phenomenon, and problem, that may very well overtake society's current obsession with rooting out narcissists. 

A narcissist and a bully are often the same. But it is a single person. And single persons can be taken down.

But IPD has taken over an entire group of people. Children lack power, of themselves. But when they gang up, they increase their power many times over. And when children are in adult bodies, they wield the weapon of "ganging up" quite effectively.

The traits of hypocrites line up tellingly, in the traits present in IPD:

• Drawing attention to themselves. "Notice me!!"
• Making a show of their faith or good deeds
• Exaggerating how much they sacrifice for others
• Materialism - - - wanting and taking things for themselves

Of course, we all must watch ourselves, so that we do not do any of these things. If we're all being faithful servants (see the blog post entitled "Slave") then there will be no need for those with IPD to draw attention to themselves. In reality, you can't blame them . . . they don't think anybody's listening to them!

But it's the people that are well cared-for; that do make a good living, that do have respect in the community . . . when they exhibit IPD traits, that's when it's bad.

And worst yet . . . it's the people that really don't do much to care for others: they don't give much to charity, they don't express kindness to strangers on the street, they don't visit their aging relatives, they don't let others have different viewpoints . . . yet they signal their own virtue by way of bumper stickers and getting their photo taken at the latest protest, or march. 

Goodness happens in giant ways, in the small moments. Moments so small . . . that only God can see them.

Slave

...we proclaim ... ourselves as your slaves ...

 - From 2 Corinthians 4

In the middle of a passage about light, and other very positive things, we see this reference to Paul, the writer. He is writing about himself. But when he talks about himself, it is not in an arrogant, or narcissistic way (sorry to use an overused word). 

Or it it?

Paul seems quite proud of himself, describing himself as a "slave." He even goes so far as to call the assertion, a proclamation. As in, something formal, or official. He is shouting from the rooftops, and confirming it by way of a notarized, legal document, that he is a slave to others . . .and this is how he seals his admission that he is in a class of person that, by the 21st Century would be characterized as the most debased and humble appointment. 

This is what being in the "light" means to Paul. 

We move into Lent later this week. It is a season within the church calendar, where self is denied and material possessions de-emphasized. 

I look around me, and find few people that are true servants to others. Much less, people that would aspire to it, and admit it. Even if we applied the tithing rule - - - 10% of your time spent as a servant, we would expect to see much more in the way of servanthood, than we see day to day. 

We can't describe people in politics as servants. There is too much power acquisition when it comes to politics. Business people can't be servants. If they aren't maximizing profits, they do not survive. People in academia are not servants. There is too much of their own personal agenda informing their practices. Doctors? Lawyers? It's too likely they chose their careers because of the money they could make, to be considered "servants."

Sometimes, a retired person adopts a lifestyle similar to servant-hood. But they had to wait until their retirement funds were secured. 

This is too much vague wording, so far. So what am I really saying? Let me suggest a few things.

• A true tithe. A real 10% of income, to go directly to charitable work that directly impacts people with real needs. 
• Stop maligning people that choose careers that serve.
• 10% of your time: 2.4 hours per day, in servant activities. That would be, like, give up your entire Saturday. 

So . . . it would be a very hard to thing to do. Do you see how only 10% of one's money and/or time, would make a huge difference?

And can you see how godly light would follow such a person around?

Now

... from the rising of the sun to its setting.

 - From Psalm 50

What an excellent description of the meaning of "forever." 

We all want forever. Even the saddest of all people, hopes there is a forever. Because if time could just continue, without ending, there would have to be a point where my sadness ends. Or, if I knew I would never die, maybe that alone would take away my pain.

Suicide is an extreme act, to hasten the coming of Forever. It is within the human heart and spirit, to believe life goes on beyond death. So I'll just get there now, and skip past the inconvenience of several dozen years of life on earth. 

But "the rising of the sun to its setting" is talking about here . . . and now. It is referring to the passing of our days, the continuous routine of our daily grind. And since the sun is always rising, and always setting, somewhere on earth, the illustration in today's Psalm is talking about what Eternity is really about.

Unending Now. This present moment, continuing forever. 

There is no time in eternity. But eternity is best understood as whatever we are experiencing in this moment, but without a sense that the clock is ticking.

Real Eternity is something we can grasp. It really is Eternal Life!

If you take your own life . . . you are not hastening anything. You are skipping something very important: your own life. And that is what makes suicide an even greater tragedy, yet.

If we didn't yearn for eternal life, we could never bear even a simple sadness, or setback. Eternal Life is the very essence of hope. 

It's just got to get better.

And it will. 

You will enjoy The Best Day Ever . . . over and over again. And that seems, to me, way more appealing than all the other descriptions of eternity. 

Ascensions

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind . . . 

 - From 2 Kings 2

Going back to yesterday's reflection, this is one point in the life of Elijah, that God may have taken him up, and then planted back down into the timeline, onto the Mount of Transfiguration and the meeting with Jesus and Moses. 

Elijah's ascension was similar to that of Christ. The exceptions are, that Elijah required a vehicle, a flaming chariot, whereas Christ just ascended, without help. Also, Elijah's ascension had a lot of buildup. He had traveled from Bethel, to Jericho, to the Jordan River, each time picking up another handful of prophets and probably a growing mass of people. The ascension of Elijah was a spectacle, a major event not unlike a 21st Century community annual summer festival. 

Elijah's sidekick, Elishah, was well-prepared to take over. 

But Jesus' ascension came suddenly. Despite all of His preparations and advice to the Apostles, they still seemed surprised by it. He was with them only. Just a dozen men off at some remote area. 

But I like to think that Elijah's ascension had one other key point - - - he was on his way to a meeting with Moses and Jesus. 

And immediately after that meeting, Jesus would begin His journey, amidst a growing throng of people. Elijah's journey started in Bethel, and ended at the Jordan River. Jesus' journey began at Bethelehem, was launched in earnest in his baptism in the Jordan River, and ended in Jerusalem. 

Elijah's ministry began quietly and ended among a lot of fanfare.

Jesus' ministry exploded into international fame (Rome had heard about Him), but ended quietly, with a few friends. 

Elijah ascended in a flaming paroxysm. 

Jesus ascended in a gentle flurry of overwhelming quiet. 

Master of Time: The Transfiguration

And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

 - From Mark 9

There are some commonly-held views about what actually took place at the Transfiguration of Christ. But as with all of Scripture, there may always be some little point, or detail, that is overlooked, or perhaps veiled. 

All of us together have only part of the whole. One of the reasons why unity is so eminently critical to humanity, is so that we can match the details that each of us hold, and with creativity, put together concepts, ideas, or facts, that seem incompatible. The outcome is Truth. Humanity fails to make true progress, because humanity is in love with partisanship, and denominationalism.

Let me share my little take (just one point of many) regarding the Transfiguration. It comes from years of studying some rare texts about all kinds of doctrine, combined with my reading of history and science, and a whole of discussions with people from all walks of life,. over decades.

And I am indebted, also, to the influence I received in the 1990s, from a variety of people, to strive for open-mindedness and embrace new ideas.

It goes like this:

How did Moses and Elijah get to the Mount of Transfiguration? What were they doing there? Was it just a vision, or dream? Was it really them? Were they resurrected for this purpose only, and then returned to the grave? How did the three Apostles know their identities?

I believe that God, Who occupies Eternity . . . a dimension without time. A concept and place that is the never ending Present - - - also could control time. He can mix and match it. He can move events and chronologies around the way we cut and paste parts of a document, or sort a column in a spreadsheet. And we're no more aware of this editing process, than the characters in the Harry Potter series are aware of J.K. Rowlings' thoughts. 

The Transfiguration was a simple act of God placing Moses and Elijah in the timeline of Christ, at just the right time. For the Master of Time, it was easy.

And now the fun part becomes: studying the lives of Moses and Elijah . . . and trying to figure out at what point they were clutched away from that moment, to be placed into the cataclysmic moment with Christ.

As the two stood there, with Christ, imagine their thoughts, and comments, as they looked down at the frightened three Apostles, and considered the impact of this intersection of several different threads in the Gospel story. 

Veil

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

 - From 2 Corinthians 4

There are probably a number of logical reasons why some people turn away from eternal life. Today's reading opens with one such reason:

They can't help it.

It all starts with stubbornness, willfulness, self-centeredness, self-love, instant gratification, desire for material or sensual pleasures. 

And we all start out with these traits. No . . . babies do not come into the world pure. They enter life with a hyper-focus on themselves. They have to . . . if they didn't, we might not care for them as we should. We have to learn not to be selfish (or hateful, or racist, or misogynist, etc.) One reason we have babies is so that as adults, maybe then, we can learn to put others ahead of ourselves. And that just prepares us to care for our elders.

Evil people are basically people that never grew up, to an extreme.

But it all starts there. God begins reaching out to us, from the very beginning. But if we keep resisting Him, it's like we are training ourselves to be very good at closing our minds, for turning away from the long-term. God requires us to see ourselves as part of the bigger picture. We must think of others ahead of ourselves. That's what God teaches us. 

But if we keep pushing back, God gets to the point of, "Well, okay . . . then I will harden your heart, Myself." It's a last-ditch effort to get us to listen.

The Gospel is veiled, because God has placed a veil over it, for those that simply will not listen to Him, after years of trying. It makes sense, too . . . we don't want people whose faith is weak, and that hate God, to understand everything about eternity. I think history has shown what happens when people people have too much knowledge.

Despite our past, and all of the mistakes we make every day . . . if we yearn for eternal life, and to be found acceptable to God, that may be all the reassurance we need, that we are in good hand, for the long haul.