“If God would just reveal Himself to me, then I’d believe” is something many people may honestly believe. Even those of us who follow Christ fall into the trap of thinking that we’d have more faith if God would just be a bit more obvious to us. Yet we see throughout God’s word that people will reject the clearest signs of God’s will.
Christ in the Old Testament
And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; and keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’ Make the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes blind, so that they will not see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)
If Israel is consistent in one thing, it’s their predictable rejection of God. No matter how incredibly God may act in their lives, over time we see them turn back to the things of the world, eventually living in outright rebellion against the same God they and their ancestors once begged for deliverance. Isaiah tells us that this will be a regular pattern with them, even rejecting the very same Messiah they’ve always been waiting for. They would see and hear the truth, yet still completely reject it.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You shall keep on listening, but shall not understand; And you shall keep on looking, but shall not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their heart, and return, And I would heal them.’ (Matthew 13:13–15)
Hundreds of years later, Israel hasn’t changed. They could see that Christ was doing miracles and talking about the Kingdom of God, yet they couldn’t possibly understand what it all meant. Some saw Him as a way to get the things they wanted, while others saw Him as a threat to what they already had. Their motivations were many, but those who rejected Christ did so out of their own rebellion.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. (Romans 1:18-19)
Today, we see this rejection so clearly in the lives of those around us. The whole world is looking for salvation from their misery and guilt, but they want a savior who will meet them on their own terms. They may want some good things that Christ offers, but they don’t want Christ. Others hate the things of God because it reveals the truth about their wickedness and rebellion against their good and holy creator. Yet God has made His truth plain to the world so that one one can claim ignorance on the Day of Judgment.
As Christians, God has saved us from our love of sin and rebellion. He has given us the faith necessary to turn away from the world and run to Christ for salvation. We find hope and comfort that we are eternally secure in Christ because of His work on the cross, and in that way God enables us to be different from the rebelliousness of those who reject the truth of Christ.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:12-14)
However, trusting Christ for our complete salvation doesn’t make us immune to rebellion. On this side of Heaven, we are still tempted to give in to the desires of our sin nature. We are never required to sin, but we still regularly choose to go against the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and instead pursue our own desires.
Those of us who have been saved from what we deserve must always be mindful of how much we still love sin. God will always treat us as though we are completely blameless, but that doesn’t mean we always live as though it’s true. Too often, we can find ourselves identifying with the regular rebellion of Israel instead of the humble obedience of Jesus Christ.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
Like those who met Christ, we can only want Him for the things He gives us, or we may reject Him because He threatens the things we already have. Through our Savior, our rebellion and disobedience will never separate us from the love of God. Yet it’s the love of God that compels us to love righteousness and obedience.
We don’t desire these things because they save us or get us the earthly things we want, but because they bring us closer to our God. When we realize we’re living in rebellion, God is gracious and allows us to still see the truth of who He is and what He desires. He enables us to repent of that sin and turn back to Him for our complete joy and satisfaction. The world rejects Christ – let us make sure we don’t join them.
