Blindness of the Human Heart

15 Oct, 2000

Dear Ted & Phyllis,

Gomen nasai for last week. I’m sorry for sending two letters in one week, but the subject of our oneness with Christ seemed so imperative that I couldn’t let the one letter stand without sending a sequel to balance it.

 I have often wondered why the Lord has told us so very little about Himself and heaven in the Bible. If I was God and wanted my people to know something about me and my kingdom I certainly would make more of an effort to try to explain such a vital subject to them. No doubt there are several reasons for this strange phenomenon, but I believe one explanation is that man is just so blind that he can’t see the obvious. One illustration is radio waves. At any given moment it can honestly be said that the room we are in is filled with beautiful music. All you need is a radio and plug it in. The radio brought nothing into the room that wasn’t already there. It was simply a receiver to enable us to hear what has always been there. Surely, spiritually, this is true. The revelation of God is all around us; the problem is simply the blindness of the human heart. It is interesting that the Bible tells us of two encounters Hagar had with God and they both were by wells in the wilderness. The first time we read, “The Angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness” (Gen. 16:7), which she later named Beerlahairoi – “Thou God seest me”. God saw her all the time; but she just didn’t know that He was looking. The second encounter was over twenty years later when she and her son got run off by Sarah. The lad was dehydrated and Hagar didn’t want to watch him die and sat down about one hundred yards a way. What she didn’t know was that she was sitting right beside another well. The well was always there; the problem was she didn’t see it until God opened her eyes (Gen. 21:19). Surely this is our greatest need. Spiritual reality is all around us but we just don’t see it. I’m sure this is why that was the main thrust of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians; that God would “give to them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the EYES of their understanding being enlightened…” (Eph. 1:17,18). Certainly this must be the reason why we are so terribly impoverished – we just don’t see the reality that is all around us. When Isaiah saw the Lord and the seraphims crying, “The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isa. 6:3), that was news to Isaiah. The glory was there, but he just hadn’t seen it. Maybe if we had better vision we might see a little more of it.  

But there seems to be another reason why we have such poor understanding; we have very little to relate to. Paul tells us that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). It is impossible to describe a rainbow to a blind man or the sound of a harp to the deaf. The Lord has tried to explain some of these things to us in His Word but – to do so – He has had to strain vocabulary, and do violence to human speech in His attempt. Try like we might we cannot visualize what Ezekiel saw in chapter one or what John saw on the Island of Patmos. There is a fellow, Rick Joiner, (I believe) who had an unusual vision about six or seven years ago and wrote an interesting book, The Final Conquest (I think that is it). I read three extensive articles in a magazine about this and found it the most helpful explanation I have ever heard on the subject. Among other things he said there are colors in heaven that we don’t have on earth. That is interesting because scientist already have proven that. They know the wavelength of various color spectrum's and they have measured wavelength of colors we can’t see; but we know they are there. The only difference between light and sound is the length of the wave. The wave is identical – it is just that the length is different. Wouldn’t it be something if in heaven we could see sound or hear light?   

Back in the ‘50s, when Betty Elliot was living and working with the Auqas in Ecuador, can you imagine what it would be like for her to try to describe to those savages who had never seen a wheel what life was like in America? When she baptized her first Auqa Christian they brought that convert to Wheaton Bible Church for the baptism. What a traumatic experience! And then what would it be like for that soul to return to the jungles of Ecuador and explain to the rest of the gang what Chicago looked like?  Anyway, that is a poor illustration of what is waiting for us.

There may be another very good reason why the Lord has shared so little of this subject with us. I’m afraid if we knew, or could comprehend, more about heaven there would be such a push for the door He would have a hard time keeping us on this planet. People would be lined up clear around the corner begging God for visas to visit heaven, but then He could never get the illegal immigrant out again. People would be trying to bribe angles for their gown so they could hide out in heaven. We thought the exodus was bad from Dang Nang when over 1,000,000 people tried to escape when the communist “liberated” that town; and the hundreds of thousands of desperate boat people who risked everything to get out of Vietnam for the next twenty years. It would be worse than that if we had a better view of heaven. I can’t imagine how God could keep us happy on this earth.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things is that the only One who ever fully took all of this in and still lived here was Jesus. Over 40 years ago I was going out one Sunday to preach in a church in Kurihama (south of Yokosuka). It was a warm summer day and I had on a light summer suit. Kurihama was a small town and the eki was just one of those whistle stops with the most primitive facilities. While waiting for my interpreter to show up to meet me I decided to take care of the necessities of nature before the service started and went in the rest room. You remember what they used to look like. While in there I could hear the plaintive crying of a little kitten coming from somewhere. I opened one of the stall doors and saw that someone had thrown this poor little thing down in that pit. I like kittens and I thought I have got to get this poor thing out of there. Unfortunately it was about four feet down to where the kitten was and I couldn’t reach down that far. I looked around for a shovel or something I could stick down in there to rescue the helpless thing. Finally I realized the only way left to pull that poor little creature out was to take off my summer suit and crawl down in there with it. I loved that cute little kitten and it looked up pleadingly at me, but I said, “Gomen little friend. I love you but I don’t love you that much.”; I closed the door and walked away. As I was walking away, the Lord reminded me that what He did for me was far more than crawling down in a filth pit for me. He didn’t just come down here and get tsumi darake (covered with sin) – He BECAME SIN for me, that I might wear His spotless garment (2 Cor. 5:21). Knowing all the glories of heaven, Jesus still came down here and descended to the lowest possible point – He descended into hell – to pick up the lowest straggler in the pit. Now that is AMAZING! Having done all of that for us, do you think Jesus would bolt the door on us now? What a home we have waiting for us in just another mile or two ahead. I don’t know about you, but that makes me more home-sick than listening to country music. 

While I am on the subject of Vietnam; I have contact with a fine church in Hue. Hue is the Kyoto of Vietnam as it used to be the capitol where the king lived several hundred years ago. It is not too far south of what used to be the DMZ that divided north and South Vietnam. I have been there twice and have a family I am quite close with. I spoke in that church a year and a half ago. The last time I was there I promised them that on my next trip I would try to bring them a computer. I have this incredible contact in Akihabara where I can get used laptops for $150-$500. I bought this one that I am using now for $400 and think it is the greatest thing since grits. If the church there in Tacoma or the TEAM prayer fellowship, or anybody else, would care to help me, I believe it would be a very good investment for the kingdom to help these Christians get on Internet. If they had a computer it would give them a lot more access to the outside world. Lord willing I hope to be heading south in another month or two depending on my finances. I will pay for this out of my own pocket but the Lord seems to be determined to keep me a very poor man. Last month I made a little over $500 out of which I must take living expense. Technically I am supposed to make $90 a day, but I haven’t seen that in three years. The last time I got paid $1,400 for three months work and then I was relieved of all of that the first day in Thailand. I was $1,200 behind as soon as I got back to NLL and the first month back nearly all went to pay back advanced salary. Tonikaku, I would be grateful for anyone who wanted to help me get a computer for the church in Hue.

 Gomen for a tsumaranai (boring) letter. I know you know all that I have written better than I, but even Peter thought it would be helpful to remind the believers in his day of the basics again (2 Pet. 1). It is amazing how we never tire of hearing the old story and the more we look at it is closer examination the more unbelievable it becomes. But this strange phenomenon is one of the proofs of its reality. Abraham told Eliezer to take a golden earring and two golden bracelets to give to the young lady who would accept the proposal to be the bride of his son. Long before Rebekah saw Isaac she was wearing her jewels as a proof of the commitment. Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus has done the same for us in giving us the Holy Spirit as His pledge? Phyllis, you look beautiful with your earring and bracelets, but that is only the down payment of the full inheritance that is soon to come. What a striking couple you will be when we get to see our Isaac and He opens to us the chest of jewels He has saved for us. I want to see you in a fashion show – but maybe that will be reserved for Jesus.

My love and prayers are with you daily;

                                                                        In the grace of our soon coming Lord, bill