John 8:30 Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.

Jesus wasn’t being quite as direct here as He was with the woman at the well, (John 4) but this certainly reminds me of that. Jesus spoke in such a way that those whose hearts were open heard and understood what He was saying, but those whose hearts weren’t ready were just confused. That sort of thing happens all the time, and I don’t think we should get uptight about it. The Bible is absolutely loaded with God’s truth, but people whose hearts aren’t open can read it and get nothing, while someone who is tuned to God rejoices in every bit of it. I once heard a British gentleman who was trying to turn people on to the richness of the Bible, and he asked them to give him a verse, any verse, and he would tell them why he delighted in it. He was being honest enough, but he came across as mostly weird, because it’s not so much a matter of the words as it is the heart attitude to receive them, and few in the congregation, sadly enough, had his level of openness to the Lord. That’s why we need to pray for people for the eyes and ears of their hearts to be opened. What we say to them is important, but it’s only half the story.

I have experienced this both in the people to whom I have ministered and in my own heart. It is always a delight when I encounter a hungry heart, but from my side, as many times as I’ve read through the Bible there are still moments when I feel like I’m reading a verse for the first time. As I tell people all the time, that’s another reason why we all need to read the Bible daily: our hearts grow to be able to receive what God is saying, when we couldn’t receive it before. I don’t have huge chunks of the Bible memorized, as some people do, but I’m grateful to say that there’s a good bit of it written on my heart. My seminary professor grandfather used to ask his students how big their Bible was. When they would respond in terms of the printed matter in their hands, he would say, “No, I’m talking about how much is in your heart.” That sort of spiritual heritage is a blessing indeed.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the awareness that James 1:22 was written for me! Help me indeed apply, live out, Your Word that is in me, so that I may continue to grow to receive, and live out, more and more, for the blessing of all around me and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!