Most children open their eyes to lay hold of the one that nuzzles them close. Most children turn their heads toward what they perceive as voices, human and animal, and of course, to other sounds, including ruckus or music. Do I describe a strange occurrence? Am I delving into unchartered territories that terrify? Do I go where no man, no woman, has gone before, as I describe what is natural and normal for a babe in arms that gradually becomes accustomed to their environment, and in turn, begins to respond to what they see, what they hear, what they sense with touch, and sniff in the air too?
Of course my questions are silly rhetorical's, and you answered them with initial politeness, followed by perhaps irritation and finally, some frustration, at being asked about what is obvious to any observer. Babies that see, babies that hear, eventually become children that begin to identify and label, making sense of sounds, noises, sensations. As they explore, they sort and group, and this gives them more confidence in their competency as worldly navigators. But dear reader, before they could see and say they saw; before they could use their ears and tell what they heard, before they put their little fingers up their own nose, or yours, there was God. The world awaited their arrival, and wouldn't you know it, it awaited yours too, perhaps many moons ago?
At this point you have every right to ask, Where is she going with this? I will tell you now, so you do not have to speculate or take to guessing: Some people can see but do not have sight. Some people hear, but they do not comprehend. Some people experience the world, in all its majesty, and haven't a clue how wonderfully made it is. Some people, have turned to shutting their eyes tightly, closing their ears with plugs, and deadening their sense of touch, by roughly handling what ought to be treated gently.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard (Psalm 19:1-3)
When you look to the stars, is it with awe, as they declare the glory of God? Do you see the earth and all that is in it, as God's handywork? Day after day the sun appears to brighten your vision, to enlighten your mind, and move you toward warmth. Night after night the moon, the sun's dim close cousin, establishes that the day before is much like this one and the one to follow, as long as it presents itself and lets us know, now is the time to rest. They display knowledge, not of their own accord: they display a knowledge that some humans irrationally reject, and that is that God has placed them where they belong, and will continue to hold them in their places, until he decides otherwise, and that day is coming. How do I know, you ask? Revelation tells us so. NOTE: There is no place in the entire world, where creation does not declare God's glory. Every nation, every tongue, is included in the responsibility of attributing to God, what only he could, and did, create.
Think again with me about the infant that sees, hears, and feels about the world. Did his/her mother give the child eyes, ears, fingertips and toes along with a cute little sniffing nose? If the mommy were able to do such a thing, would they also be able to make all those body parts function effectively so the child would learn and grow and discover? (By the way, how do children grow? Explain the mystery of the forever changing shape of each human from day to day, from dust to human to aging, turning back to dust ... go ahead, I will wait as you figure this out and make sense of it all, all by yourself) The answer, of course, is not a chance. Listen, it takes a lot of yapping to talk people out of believing in God. It takes a lot of chaotic explanations to reason the Sovereign and his creative hand away: It is a foolhardy endeavour, I tell you, but people try to erase God, despite all of creation declaring his glory, day after day, night after glorious night.
John's Epistles succinctly explain so much in very little written space. You can find 1, 2, 3 John, just before Jude, which is followed by the final book of The Bible, known as Revelation. Here is what John has to say about the whole world, minus of course, those of us that have heard the Gospel, believed the Gospel by the grace of God, and belong to him as his adopted children, through Christ our Lord.
And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness (1 John 5:19)
Have you noticed this too, dear reader, that the whole world appears to be lying in wickedness? I certainly have.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17)
Dear reader, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Those that hear the words but do not comprehend meaning, may as well be considered deaf. If I speak to someone about my faith, and use Biblical terminology, and they haven't an interpreter, in other words, they do not have the Holy Ghost to give them understanding, all they see is lips moving, and perhaps all they hear, is mumbo jumbo gibberish.
Have you had your vision or hearing impaired by infection before? Years ago I had a kitten named Smokey, and as she sat on my shoulder, she swatted at my blinking eye, and scratched it's surface: the pain was excruciating. My ears for whatever reason, always seem irritated, and sometimes I just hear muffled voices and ringing ~ please don't feel the need to diagnose and cure me, I have tried everything. What I am saying is this: My vision was impaired and so was my hearing, and when I was suffering I could not focus on seeing or listening. THAT, dear one, is what the mind is like, of someone that does not know God as their Sovereign; their senses are impaired, and they cannot be cajoled, convinced, or connived at, to see clearly, to hear perfectly, to sense and fully comprehend the Word of God. Those that do not know God do not speak his language and do not hear his voice: they are of the world and can only hear other worldlings. Their urges are inclined toward satisfying carnal desires; God's children cannot help but want spiritual meat and drink that satiates the soul. John explains this so well, as I stated above:
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error (1 John 4:4-6)
... the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. To be clear, the Spirit of Truth is Holy, the spirit of error is devilish, demonic, satanic ... to hear God and his people means you have the Holy Spirit residing within. Those that belong to the world house a different spirit, known as error, that inclines them to the sins of lawless wickedness. It is that simple, dear one.
Lastly, just as a mother or father cannot give their child physical eyes and ears to see, she/he cannot give them spiritual eyes and ears to hear, however; they can raise the child in the admonishments of the Lord, preaching and teaching his commandments, his laws, his number one rule, which is to love him and love the brethren. Without being taught, we do not learn the righteous Way.
If you have not be taught by your earthly care givers, dear one, consider asking God to open your mind, your heart, and your soul, to learning directly from him. Our heavenly Father hears you, and none of your prayers, when they align with his will, are spoken, whispered, or silently pleaded, in vain.
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him (1 John 5:14-15)
