They're just drunk

So here's something interesting about non-believers:  They can SEE a miracle of God and literally dismiss it with ridicule.  

They are actual WITNESSES to these miracles and still they mock.  That just blows me away.  That tells me that it takes more than just a miracle to win a person to Jesus.  The heart of the unbeliever needs to make some effort toward a connection with Jesus.  At least in some small way.  Perhaps they recognize they are not perfect.  Perhaps they see a deficiency they want to address but don't know how to begin.  Perhaps they answer a prompting on their conscience to reconcile a past relationship.  Or maybe they've just been beaten down with the consequences of their own sins and are looking up for a way out.  In all these cases, they may not recognize that it's God that they are searching for but at least something is opened up in their hearts.  Something, anything.  God doesn't need a VIP invitation, He just needs them to look upwards and not inwards at themselves.  God seeks all those that are broken but He can't reach them until they look away from themselves and towards a characteristic of Jesus.

So when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles (in a quiet and personal way, by the way) they began to speak in other languages.  The people of Jerusalem heard the sound of them speaking and rushed to hear what was going on.  They literally heard their own languages.  And I'm sure many spoke more than one language so they were able to hear all the languages they knew in one place.  They were amazed.  

When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.  Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?  Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?"  Acts 2:6-8

Well, there's only one solid explanation for such a miraculous and amazing situation:  they must be drunk. 

That sounds ridiculous and yet that's what the Bible says the people were saying.  But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, "They're just drunk, that's all!" Acts 2:13

Again, that just blows my mind!  How unfaithful are these mockers that they would mock the Holy Spirit in His very presence?  Is it in their experience to start speaking other languages when they've had too much too drink?  I doubt that's the case, so how is it that they would come up with such a conclusion?

At first I thought that they were just plain evil because it's always the devil's attempt to take a miracle of God and reduce it with ridicule, not even addressing the actual situation, but just finding a way to diminish the visible power by drawing attention away to self-glorification.  Because that's all that bullying and mockery really is.  It's drawing attention to the one making fun of the person.  It attempts to reduce the victim and puff themselves up in an "I'm-so-much-better-than-you-that-I-can-put-you-down" kind of way.  Yeah, that sounds like one of the enemy's tactics.  

But what if that wasn't the case at all?  What if God shut their ears and to them it DID seem like babbling and drunkenness?  

Isaiah says, Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.  Isaiah 6:10

That seems like such a harsh thing to say.  And yet Jesus goes ahead and repeats it in Matthew 13.  The disciples asked why He was speaking in parables and He said that Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.  And then He goes on to quote that same passage in Isaiah 6:10.

You see, the thing is that the Word of God is not to be spoon-fed.  It is a hunt, a search, a constant seeking.  One website reports that there are 77 verses in the Bible about seeking God, another website says 83.  In any case, that's a lot of instruction telling us to seek.  And seeking is not just like, "Oh I just read the Bible and now I understand everything there is to know about Jesus and I'm going to heaven and I'm awesome."  Reading it is rarely enough.  For the same reason that a teacher won't just read a textbook to a child and then expect them to have mastered the concepts enough to teach it to others.  They study it, they look at the bold-face words and learn what they mean (not just that they exist).  They discuss it, in small groups, sometimes as a class.  They do projects and reports on it.  They present their findings.  They don't just read the textbook.  

Many open their Bible textbook and just read through, or listen to the Bible on a cd, but they never study it.  They don't seem to desire to actually discuss it or apply it to their lives.  They think it's enough just to read it.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love to listen to my Bible too, sometimes when I'm driving or cleaning the house or whatever.  I love that we have the Bible in an audio version.  And sometimes I love to just read the verses of the day from my various favorite websites.  And those are beautiful things to do in quiet times.  But I will admit that I don't grow very much during those times.  And that's why when I listen to the Bible, I choose something that I've already studied so that I can reinforce my learnings.  And the truth is, that if I don't apply the verse of the day to my life or pray it into my spirit somehow, it really does nothing for me.  It's more like just seeing a picture of an old friend and being like, "Oh hey, I loved that guy!  What great times we had."  

I decided to study the book of Revelation one day.  So in my quiet (yet hands-busy) times, I listened to the entire book on my iPhone.  A friend of mine knew I was planning to study Revelation and asked how it was going.  I told her that I was almost through it.  But the lie stung just a bit because although it was true that I was almost done listening to it, I had made zero progress in understanding any of it. I could recall nothing from what I had heard as I listened to it.  

But in an effort to redeem myself here, I must let you know that I did finally open my Bible, highlighters in hand, internet open as well, and study some the passages and their implications in my life after I finished listening to it.  And for me, THAT is "studying" the Bible, not just reading it.  

Jesus knew that there were many people who were eager for "blessings" by osmosis, just by being near the Blessed One or just reading the Blessed Scriptures.  But that's not how His knowledge and salvation works.  One must desire a deeper understanding and knowledge of God and not just the blessings and rewards that come with that knowledge and understanding.  

Understanding and knowledge of Jesus is more precious than gold and more costly than jewels.  

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.  The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are radiant giving light to the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.  They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.  Psalm 19:7-10

This knowledge of God is exceptionally valuable and a gift to those who seek Him.  

To those who are not seeking Him, their eyes and ears are closed.  Yes, that's harsh.  But that's what the Bible says. 

So I urge to you study the Scriptures, not just read them.  So that your eyes and ears can stay open and so that you don't find yourself mocking the Holy Spirit in His presence.  Because He IS at work, and He IS displaying Himself in amazing ways.  In my own personal experience, I have seen people who profess to be believers literally mock the movements of the Lord and attribute His miracles to ridiculous explanations, just like the people of Jerusalem thought the apostles were drunk.  But now I know that they were not just being dumb.  (Because really, they sound so dumb when they claim that speaking fluently in another language is a result of drunkenness.)  They weren't dumb; God just closed up their hearts so they wouldn't understand.  What a horrible thing it would be for us to realize that God shut our heart and mind and ears.  

I don't want God to ever shut me down so that I don't understand.  That would seem to me, like a nightmarish, dark, cold, lonely place where my soul would never find rest.  Without the Light of the Spirit I would have zero peace.  Thank you, Lord, for granting me that peace that is always surrounding me.  And please never let me stop seeking You.