Keeping an Open Mind

Christians are really closed-minded about things, aren't we? For instance, only a closed-minded person would entertain the possibility of a supernatural Creator bigger than themselves. Only a closed-minded person would think that same Creator could or would heal and work beyond our imaginations in some of the most hopeless situations. Only a closed-minded person would think that same Creator had infinite opportunities for their life and the lives of those who were touched by them. Only a closed-mi-- Hey! Wait a minute! That doesn't sound closed-minded at all!

The truth is, those who do not follow God, who refused to believe He exists are the most closed-minded of us. Psalm 14:1 says, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'” That's it. There is no. Period. End of discussion. That way of thinking is what closes doors, what eliminates opportunities, what negates possibility. Not the converse. As a matter of fact, Christians are called believers for a reason. Because we believe! We don't deny things we do not comprehend; we seek truth. We don't say can't; we say, "God can." We believe in a power greater than anything mankind has harnessed, a mode of operation greater than anything mankind has devised, a Being outside of time or any other constraint to which mankind is subject. That, to me, sounds very open-minded.

Do we live our lives in a different and deliberate manner because we have discovered that for which we have searched? Absolutely. Do we cease to believe lies because we have discovered truth? Who wouldn't? Do we want others to know the truth? Of course we do! The truth is a wonderful gift! The truth sets people free! And watching others live the same lie we lived before we found the truth is troubling to us! But closed-minded? Not at all!

Let me just drop this little slice of heaven on ya: The tiny, tiny body of believers with whom I worship each Sunday (35 or 40 people on a good week) provides our community with a Thanksgiving dinner and a Memorial Day picnic each year. We help people pay their mortgages and have paid the mortgage on our building in full and early. We have partnered with a church in Liberia to assist their community and hosted a men's conference for years. We offer two weekly Bible studies and operate a thrift shop in our community twenty Saturdays out of the year. As individuals, we are involved in foster grandparent programs, programs to feed and clothe children in impoverished areas, adoption, and international ministries. There is more than one author among us, one member is regularly involved in helping police during crisis situations, a couple is mentoring children in their neighborhood and holding prayer meetings in their home, and another sister is currently using her domestic skills to raise money for a church project. I say all of this because it is our belief in the supernatural that causes us to step out in areas a truly closed-minded person might say are impossible; it is our belief in infinite possibilities that propels us forward in the quest to bring heaven to earth! The Church universal is, or should be, people who have looked at the world with the eyes of a loving Creator, seen others with His compassion, and responded in ways a closed-minded person would never dream or be remotely comfortable with! Being a Christian does not make one closed-minded, it makes one Christ-minded, opening the door to possibilities that are out of this world and the supernatural power to serve in those possibilities.

"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" No infinite possibility. No infinite love. No infinite power. No supernatural. Just all this world has to offer --Have you seen it? --and then death. That sounds like a pretty limited view to life, if you ask me. You might even call it closed-minded.