Jesus healed a man who was born blind. This irked some of the Pharisees.

They peppered the man who was healed (and his parents) with questions, trying to discredit the man or the miracle. Quite understandably, he got tired of repeatedly explaining how it happened. “I have told you already,” he said, “and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again?” (John 9:27)

On one level, it’s simply what the man said. But it also makes me wonder if there is someone reading this devotional right now who is slow to listen to God’s words, especially about trusting Christ, even though he has been clear time and time again.

Imagine standing at the gates of heaven and pretending to be surprised that trust in Christ was both life-giving and life-saving.

“I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again?”

John Calvin remarked: “If God speaks to us today and we put Him off until tomorrow, there will come the dead of night when what is possible now will no longer be possible and we shall knock in vain on the closed door.”*

Maybe you’ve made a commitment to the risen Jesus as the Lord of your life and this devotional is simply a reminder of the importance of that decision.

But if not, heed this word from a place of concern and love:

Listen to God. Trust Christ. The door will not be open forever.

---

Notes:

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.

–*John Calvin, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Hebrews and 1 and 2 Peter, trans. W.B. Johnson, eds. D Torrance & T. Torrance (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman’s, 1963), 57.