John 12:37-40 But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”

But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said, “The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts – so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot turn to me and have me heal them.”

Why would the Lord blind their eyes and harden their hearts to the miraculous signs? How could it be their fault for not believing if there is a power far greater than theirs at work – not allowing them to see… really see? I have heard some fairly long-winded explanations about the reason behind this hard-heartening in the past, but today a new reason has been pressed upon my heart… it is out of love.

Bare with me through this illustration: There was a father with two daughters. The father was very kind to his children; he provided for them, loved them, and taught them how to live. The younger daughter saw her father loved her, and she loved him back with everything she was. She trusted him and lived contented being near Him. The older daughter cared for her father, but she had a hidden seed of doubt planted in her heart; she couldn’t quite fully trust that her father wasn’t holding back some treasure that she may find someplace else… so she left her family and began searching any and every other place she could find to make sure there wasn’t something better. In her seeking, she found herself in very cruel and unwelcoming circumstances. One time she found herself so mixed up in an ugly scheme that the whole village began talking about it. The situation in the village continued to grow worse and worse and the eldest daughter was right in the mix. Then one day, the father entered the main village square and began healing the hurt and telling them that there is a better way to live. The eldest daughter saw this… 

The two options:

Scenario A. She saw the miraculous signs and just as quickly as she turned from her father, she ran back to him and said, ‘oh, how wonderful my father is… a healer, powerful.’

Or B. With her hardened-heart, she walked away… leading herself deeper into the cruel world until the day in which she began to long for and understand the deep love that her father had for her.

In scenario A, the daughter’s love is still fickle. It’s like loving someone because they are famous. There is nothing there. My heart is sad for famous people who base their worth on that fickle love from others… It is an empty love – and one that is not real nor will it last. We have something better waiting for us… so to avoid a lifetime of mediocre ‘love’… really just fondness or a short obsession, God allows us to fall so that we may soar. For a time our hearts may be hardened, but only so He can reveal the Greatest Love of all – one that isn’t fickle. A pure love, a Fatherly Love, and a Love that transcends time and events. Our God is not withholding anything from us. When He says He can provide all our needs, He means it. When He says He is the source of life, He says it because He wants us to know Life… real Life… He is the Way. And as the youngest daughter trusted and rested, contented in the father’s love – He wanted this for the eldest daughter as well. He loves them both and will not allow something lesser than what is best for either of His children.

Isaiah 55:8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

The sooner we can let it sink into our heart that God is ultimately and above all the only Good we will ever know – the sooner we can trust that although we don’t always understand… He’s got this. 

Blessings to you today.