Open-mindedness is a popular and politically correct concept today. However, what most people mean by the term is to be willing to accept anything and everything. The world system is extremely liberal and tolerant to the point of rejecting any absolute truth. That is why Jesus was hated 2,000 years ago, and why the world system has been consistent in its hatred of Christians. You see, light and darkness do not pair off well. One reason our precious Savior Jesus came to this earth was to demonstrate what God is like. An amazing thing is that after all of His displays of love, the majority of people rejected Him. Why? Because of the wickedness of the human heart.

I wish to God that we could say that things have changed, but they haven’t. The only hope for mankind is to have their heart opened. And praise God for how He has opened the door of faith to us! The gospel message is not for the open-minded but for the open-hearted, for that is where the Lord knocks.

Paul was sent to proclaim the truth that would open eyes, and he prayed for open doors to share his faith in Jesus. So should we. We can be totally confident in, and must be completely dependent on, the Lord’s wisdom, for only He can open up doors for us, opposition notwithstanding.

The defeat of Satan took place openly, so our profession of faith is to be public also. May the Lord open our mouths to boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, just like Phillip did, for there is salvation in no other name.

Perhaps you’re like the men on the Emmaus Road who were walking with the risen Lord but didn’t recognize Him until their eyes were opened. May each of us be still before Jesus and allow His living word to burn in our hearts today. It is this openness before the Lord that allows our transformation into His image. Maintaining an open heart to the ‘word of the truth, the gospel’, however, will necessitate being closed-minded to what is false.