The Cause of Losing Heart
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
The gospel is light. When the gospel is spoken, the light of the glory of Christ shines. Salvation happens when the eyes of the heart see this display. Jesus is so irresistibly beautiful and glorious that when people see Him in the gospel, they can’t help but come to Him for salvation. They are decisively compelled, not by force, but by His attractiveness.
Yet Paul knows that not everyone to whom he preaches gets saved. He had his fair share of rejection. How does he explain this failure if the gospel is supposedly so attractive?
The gospel is veiled. There is nothing wrong with the light. It is shining brightly. The problem is that something is covering it so that it cannot be seen. He explains this veil as the work of satan blinding the minds of unbelievers.
Do you see a cause for losing heart here? The gospel is light, but unbelievers are blind. What good is light to the blind? Does this not make preaching the gospel a complete waste of time? Isn’t it simply an exercise in futility? It is no wonder we are tempted to lose heart.
Pause. Don’t throw away your torch just yet. There is hope to be found here. Paul knew about the blindness of the unbeliever. Did he lose heart? No. Which means, the veil is not the last word. He says, '[our gospel] is veiled only to those who are perishing.' In other words, the blindness is not effective for all. There is hope. That hope will be the focus of the next devotion.
Losing Heart in Evangelism
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment