God is keeping the door open for us

Article for Wednesday March 18, 2026

John 12:40–41 ⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” 41Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

Isaiah saw Jesus Christ not so much in the flesh as he saw Jesus in the Spirit of God.  Isaiah was not influenced by man but by God.  The world we live in is more influenced by man because the world wants to take over God’s kingdom on earth.  Who does that sound like? 

It is not hard to see those leaders and influencers for who they are and what they believe.  We listen to our leaders and influencers, and we become blinded by our loyalty which is misguided by our wants and desires. 

This is what blinded Israel’s leaders at the times when they were thrown back into yet another captivity.  Pride, power, and riches, a blind eye, hate, and jealousy that blinded the eyes, fogged ones thinking, and lost all that they hoped to gain.  Too bad these leaders and people did not learn from the past.  Too bad we still have not learned from the past.

The good news is God gave them and gives us a way out.  If they would have looked with their eyes and were willing to understand with their hearts God would heal them from their infirmities.  To understand with your heart is to have God in your heart and to see with your eyes is to see the will of God.

God was always looking for His people to turn back to Him.  God is always look for all believers to turn back to Him.  God is always keeping the door open for all to turn back to Him or even turn to Him for the first time.

John 12:42–43 42Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Like those at the time of Jesus we too fear not fitting into our world.  We spend more time trying to fit into our world than we do trying to fit into God’s will.  In other words, we fear the world more than we fear God.  It should be the other way around.  We should fear God because God can give us eternal life or death.  The world cannot give us eternal life though it can lead and influence us to eternal death.

The leaders and influencers of the time of Jesus, and now, look for their own glory and do not look to give God any glory.  However, the glory for all the good that we do goes to God and not to ourselves.  Glory to God is best served without egos on the side fried or otherwise.  God is the creator of all things and especially of the good things we do.  God does it right, and if it’s wrong then we did it.

John 12:44–46 44And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Taking a lesson from the Son of God who humbled Himself in front of His Father and the world.  Jesus gave the glory to the Father as should we.  We need to stop putting more importance on ourselves and put the importance on God.  Believe in Jesus Christ, believe in God and know that to believe in God is to believe in His word.  

God did not leave us with the means of guessing what is right or wrong so that we would have to put our faith in ourselves.  Rather God was clear in His word to those who believe as to what is truly right and wrong so that we can be brought up as His children.  Do not be fooled by those who think it is better to have faith in themselves for they rule their lives with an uneducated guess.  We who believe do not have to guess but read and study the true word of God.

John 12:47–48 47If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

If we hear the word of God and that word comes from the word of God, then we have our guidance for life.  However, we know God’s word, and we still sin and here Jesus tells us we will not be judged.  In truth we were judged when Jesus died for our sins to be forgiven.  But those who reject God’s word Jesus says they will be judged by the word they reject.

What else does our Lord say?  Jesus came to save the world, and this will be those who did not reject God’s word but believe that God would not leave us hanging without guidance.  This tells us who believe that we have a God who loves us so much that He wants us to have eternal life and relationship with Him.

John 12:49–50 49For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

We can love this verse, the Father who sent Jesus Christ to us gave Jesus the commandment of eternal life for us all.  We can pray that those who reject God’s word can be unblinded and give their faith to God for it is God’s will and way that saves us through Jesus Christ dying for our sins and being resurrected for our eternal life that begins when we too are resurrected on that last day.  Amen.

Written by Pastor Curtis A. May