“and they, having become callous,” ~Ephesians 4:19(a)
Callousness… Last week we spoke about an implication Paul makes that unbelievers have somehow willingly remained ignorant to the Light of life that is found in God. Well, the very next statement (this week’s passage) sums up the result of willful ignorance: Callousness.
Last week I asked if you know anyone who refuses to see the truth that is staring them in the face, or that just keeps knocking them down. This week I ask, do you know anyone who has ignored the truth so much, and rejected God’s plan so often that they can’t even tell right from wrong? Yeah…those are the people Paul is talking about in his statement above. They are so far past ignoring the light and the truth of who God is and what He desires for them, that they have lost all sensitivity to both.
Do you think Christ Followers can be this way? ABSOLUTELY! Why do you think some of us get caught up in habits, addictions, and philosophies that dishonor God? I’ve been there! More than once!! As I often tell people, I spent 10 years living my life as a “Believer Behaving Badly.” I was making my own decisions, and my life resembled nothing less than a hot mess! I lived in such a way that I now have a nice healthy dose of fear of going my own way. But I never feel that I am too “spiritual” to go there again. I know how easy it is for human nature to put God on the side burner (not all the way on the back burner; that would be way too blatant), just for a season. And that is all it takes to lose track of His will and leading. Without even doing anything, God is soon on the back burner, and we are out of touch…literally.
The key here for Christ Followers to keep from becoming callous to God’s will and way, is staying connected to the Body of Christ. That has been a poignant theme of Ephesians Four. Stay connected, learn of one another, submit to one another, encourage one another, be accountable to one another. And of course staying closely attached to the head who is Christ. Prayer; scripture reading and meditation; Bible-based teaching; obedience to all of the above. These things will keep us safe from being desensitized to God’s Light and will. It will be very difficult to grow callous as our Faith and passion are being consistently fed!
Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~