I've been developing a metaphor describing our sinful condition as spiritual "light pollution," the equivalent of the physical phenomena. A light-polluted environment (such as an urban city) will cause the dark background of the night sky to become brighter, thereby 'hiding the face' of the more subtle, dim stars. It occurred to me that the same thing happens when, in a sinful condition, we try to understand the fullness of God's revealed truth. Just as you can't shine a flashlight up at a star or nebula and expect to see more clearly (actually the opposite will happen), you can't expect to understand the deep things of God when you are anything but totally and completely receptive. Selah