"Then they cried out with aloud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul."
Acts 7:57-58
Saul (later to be called Paul) was a party to the travesty against Stephen. But there was something different about Saul that set him apart from the others. The Jewish leaders did not want to hear the truth, so they "stopped their ears." To use Peter's phrase, they were "willingly ignorant" (II Peter 3:5). But Saul, I believe, really wanted truth. His own confession was that even though he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent, yet he received grace because he did it in ignorance (I Timothy 1:13). The Holy Spirit can convict a person who sincerely wants the truth. People with a hardened heart that rejects truth are more difficult to reach. As for me, even though I may not be entirely correct in my theology, I do desire to know God's truth. So I keep my ears open to listen, and then weigh what I hear against God's Word.
Today's Thought: People who do not want to hear the truth willfully plug their ears.
Have a listening day. Love you.
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