Think about it… "Some people do listen”
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear”, “Are you listening” or my personal favorite “Yo, listen up”; Jesus used the common Jewish phrase “He who has ears to hear let him hear”. This was our Lord’s way of saying listen this is important.
It has always brought me a lot of joy when a parent stops me in the hall and say’s our 4th grader told us almost your whole lesson on the way home from worship. We didn’t even think he was listening. These children have ears and they know how to use them.
When I first started flying I would ALWAYS listen closely to the directions given by the flight attendants. If something bad happened I wanted to know what to do. After a while I simply stopped listening and began to think of the instruction as repetitive and useless.
Why does the airline insist that the instruction be repeated each flight? Because each time some people DO LISTEN. On every flight there is someone who has never heard the famous “Please fasten your seat belt and have your seat in the upright position”.
Teaching God’s word is not always as rewarding as you would like it to be. Not everyone wants to hear the message. Many have heard it over and over again. And yet, each time it is spoken some people DO LISTEN. For some it might be the first time they have been told of God’s plan for our salvation. For others it might be the RIGHT time to hear and therefore it may be the first time they have listened.
I once was talking to a University student who mentioned that he was taking a class from one of my former professors. When the professor’s name was mentioned, I groaned and rolled my eyes and said how boring I had found that teacher. The student’s reaction changed our relationship, he became the teacher and I became the student. He said, “I learned to listen harder. The harder I listen, the smarter he (the teacher) became.”
This may not always be true but ever since then I have listened harder and it has proven to be true in almost every situation.
As you sit in Bible Class or Worship look around. How many people do you see who came prepared to learn?
Pray with me… "Lord open my mind to your message no matter who you send as your messenger.”
Brother Dave
