Isaiah 6:9 (New International Version)
9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.
"Good intentions pave the road to hell." Intentions are perceived. When we do anything, other people will perceive our intentions. They will take their own lesson. This is life. People will judge us, and the message we intend can be misinterpreted or misperceived.
The Old Testament and the work of prophets shows how God has been misperceived. God had to continuously send prophets to chastise and explain His wishes to His people. But God took the onus in explaining His will, and in the end, He "gave us His only Son" (John 3:16).
The lesson is that the burden is on us. The Gospels gives a number of examples of how Jesus intentionally countered people's perceptions and how He taught and fought to change people's misinterpretations.
The first two examples that come to my mind is the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35) and the Samaritan woman (John 4). In the parable, Jesus commands us to forgive and have compassion. With the Samaritan woman, Jesus took the onus to spread the Word. He forgave the woman's mis-perceptions caused by history and more fully explained God's intentions.
This onus, this burden has been passed to us.
" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.
"Good intentions pave the road to hell." Intentions are perceived. When we do anything, other people will perceive our intentions. They will take their own lesson. This is life. People will judge us, and the message we intend can be misinterpreted or misperceived.
The Old Testament and the work of prophets shows how God has been misperceived. God had to continuously send prophets to chastise and explain His wishes to His people. But God took the onus in explaining His will, and in the end, He "gave us His only Son" (John 3:16).
The lesson is that the burden is on us. The Gospels gives a number of examples of how Jesus intentionally countered people's perceptions and how He taught and fought to change people's misinterpretations.
The first two examples that come to my mind is the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35) and the Samaritan woman (John 4). In the parable, Jesus commands us to forgive and have compassion. With the Samaritan woman, Jesus took the onus to spread the Word. He forgave the woman's mis-perceptions caused by history and more fully explained God's intentions.
This onus, this burden has been passed to us.
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