Open Hearts

Paul informs the Corinthians that their misguided affections have constricted their hearts toward him and thus toward the truth. What Paul teaches here is very important because if you restrict or close your heart toward someone or something, then you will be blinded to the truth that comes to you from that source. He used the illustration of how a father calls upon his child to be open to him in order to plead with the Corinthians to be open with Paul and God's truth that came through Paul. We learn in this passage how vital it is to open our heart to the truth of God's word. The only way to deal with our sin or to discern between truth and error, is to open our hearts to the full light of God's truth. Unless we open our hearts to the truth we will continue to follow worldly agendas where we put our necks into the same yoke with unbelievers and pull against the Lord, all the while thinking that we are serving the Lord.