YouTube has several video series that challenge you not to cry. One collection shows the moment someone’s cochlear implant is activated, for example when a child first hears their mother’s voice. The sheer joy and emotions are overwhelming. Similar videos show someone who is colorblind putting on a pair of glasses that allows them to see the vivid beauty in Creation. People cry when they realize the beauty they have been missing for so long.
There are many parallels between seeing and hearing in the physical world and in the spiritual world. Jesus explained His use of parables by quoting Isaiah 6 in reference to unbelievers who, “hear but never understand, and who see but never perceive.” (Matthew 13) Paul said that Satan “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) The Psalmist prays to God to “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (Psalm 119) God calls His people to proclaim the Gospel to people who are spiritually deaf and blind. We are called to describe spiritual sights and sounds of the Kingdom of God to people who have never known what we have experienced, and do not know what they are missing.
Our challenge in proclaiming the Gospel is similar to describing the birds singing to someone who is deaf or explaining the visual beauty of a sunset to someone who is blind. Words alone are inadequate. While only the Holy Spirit can change someone’s heart, God’s people must live lives full of joy, peace, and hope in Christ that leads others to conclude that they are missing something beautiful in their life. Too often we want to point out someone’s sin, make a theological point, argue some political issue, or display how much we know. Explaining the frequency or volume of a women’s voice doesn’t tap into the emotional impact of a child first hearing their mother’s voice. Describing who wrote a piece of music or who performed it lacks the impact of its beauty. Knowing how our rods, cones, and optic nerves work lack the powerful experience of seeing all the colors in a flower garden. When it comes to living in the grace of the Gospel, unbelievers have grown accustomed to life without these experiences and cannot imagine that they are missing anything. We should never stop trying to change their minds.
Jesus asked His disciples, “What do you do more than others?” (Matthew 5) We are called to be different than everyone else because we have experienced the love and grace of God. Loving our enemies. Blessing those who curse us. Doing good to those who hate us. Praying for those who persecute us. Being hospitable to those who cannot return the favor. There is no earthly reason to treat people this way, but living this way makes people wonder why we are different.
If you’re like me, a few special people played a big role in your spiritual journey. They were not necessarily the smartest or best educated people, but these folks were inexplicably kind, humble, loving, and gracious. They were full of peace and joy. If Jesus is important to us, we know all we need to know to be one of those special people in someone else’s life. We just have to stop doing what everyone else does and disappearing in the crowd. We have to live as people who see and hear the King. People will notice and then we can tell them about the King.