The Invisible Veil Over Our Head

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6

While sitting down near a table inside my hotel room here in Shunde contemplating on a work related problem, a startling revelation came to me and I would like to share to you. But before that, allow me to tell you a small snapshot of my life to drive home my point.

I was probably in grade 5. It was around 6 o’clock in the evening, and quite dark because the electric power tripped off earlier. My friend, Sonny, and I decided to entertain ourselves by playing catch-me-with-your-eyes-blindfolded – it was an absurd choice. The first it was me. I bent my knees and spread my arms wide and swept the area that I passed by hoping to grab my friend’s limbs. Unknowingly, I was heading towards our wooden stairs made of hard tugas. Ouch! I bumped my right knee to the edge of one of the steps very badly that we had to stop the game. I writhed in pain. 

No one in his or her right mind would attempt to walk with his or her eyes close or with a blindfold. We all know that to reach our destination we have to see where we are heading. The fact is, I and most likely you, have been walking through life blindfolded most of the time without even knowing about it. Unlike the game I played, our eyes are not covered by a piece of cloth, but by an invisible veil of lies! And Sonny is not responsible for this either, but the father of lies himself, Satan.

The world is full of lies. Look around you. You can see these outside, and can hear this inside of you. As a matter of fact, while I was typing this article, a lot of lies flew over my head: "you can’t finish this", "you are not good enough", "no one will appreciate this", "it’s not worth your time"…blah, blah, blah. The truth is, I am not a Roald Dahl or a Stephen King, alright. But I have enough education and a little talent to write a simple message.  And most important of all, I love writing about my God, and I love touching other peoples life with my pen. It makes me feel happy, peaceful and alive. 

When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert three times, He always replied, “It is written…” Actually, Jesus wasn’t just quoting the Holy Scripture verbatim, but really He was just exposing Satan's lies by replying truth as it was written; the truth always beats  a lie. In short, Jesus showed us that to be able to tear Satan’s veil of deception in our life we have to know the truth! If you think about it deeply, temptation is simply an invitation by the Enemy to abandon the truth, and embrace a lie with a promised signing bonus of instant pleasure or relief. But in truth, the ultimate reward is slow and sure death.

It all boils down to this. Unlike what I used to think, and maybe some of you, spiritual battle is not only about choosing between right and wrong, but first and foremost, it is also about knowing the Truth from the Lies. The moment a baby first wail and cry, it not only announce to the world his or her first day of attendance, but also his or her ignorance. True, God blessed this baby with a brain, some talents and a built-in conscience, but still that baby is ignorant in many ways including in spirituality.   

Therefore, one of our essential pursuits is to educate ourselves with the truth about life. But where can we find the truth? The answer lies in the Holy Bible. We owe it to ourselves to study and learn about what our God has to say about how we should live our life. Unless you find it amusing to bump and scrape your knees against the steps of hell, then you don’t have to lift a finger to remove the veil that might be hanging over your head now…I don't find it amusing, and I hope you too.