Hearts Wide Open

Have you ever found a passage of scripture that seemed too odd to investigate?  There is too much irony in this passage regarding the complexity of what is being said and the actual message.

2 Corinthians 6:11-13

11 Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide. 12 You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. 13 Now in a like exchange—I speak as to children—open wide to us also.

Even going back to the original text, this passage seems a bit cryptic.  This is because Paul is using some colloquialisms of the time and it doesn’t translate very well.  Using the context of the complexity of the Church in Corinth and how hard it was for them to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, we can understand that Paul is telling them to open their hearts and minds to what he is trying to teach them.  Paul continually preaches the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus Christ; through which we are able to realize and live in absolute freedom from the bondage of sin.  Paul is imploring the Corinthians to stop being stubborn in their worldly ways and take what he is saying to heart.

I’ve discussed at length the concept of making ourselves vulnerable so that we can find absolute truth.  It is daunting, but we must put ourselves in a position where we understand and accept that everything we know and believe could be wrong.  Once our hearts are open like this, and we sincerely want to know the truth, then we will not only learn what it is, but be able to accept it. This is Paul’s concept; he wants the Corinthians to seek the absolute truth just as Paul has and since he had learned the truth, he was able to speak it to others.

It amazes me how many people claim that they want to know the truth and that they are seeking the truth but when they are presented with something contrary to their current belief system, they reject it as false without prudence.  It’s understandable to have doubts, fears, and worries, but if we truly want to live in the truth, then we have to realize that if we are not currently living in it, we have to accept our current reality as something other than the truth.  If we cannot first accept this, then the search is pointless because we will not move towards the truth even if we find it.

In the movie The Matrix there is a lot of talk about coming to grips with the fact that everything you think you know is a lie or a façade.  Free your mind; fight through the fear and concern and take hold of that which is the ultimate truth.  Our lives are too short to live in an ignorance that stunts our growth and prevents us from knowing our true potential in life.


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