In the gospel of Mark 8: 18, Jesus is frustrated with his disciples because they simply aren't "getting it." He asks them if they have eyes but still do not see, and ears but do not hear? The truth is that many of us go through life and do not hear, or if we do, we hear what we want to hear. On a physical level, there is a learning disability called "auditory processing." I am extremely familiar with this because one of my sons was diagnosed with this problem when he was about 6. This "problem" did not mean that he was mentally challenged or that he was deaf. It meant that he could hear but not "process" quickly and normally all that was being said to him. This made for some very frustrating moments because it was difficult for him to follow too many commands at once. If I asked him "to go upstairs, brush his teeth, put on his pajamas and get ready for bed," he might go upstairs and I was lucky if he put on his pajamas! Auditory processing also produced some moments that he still laughs about today! Such as when he was 11 or 12, he was sitting in Math class with his pencil in his hand. His teacher was discussing some problem and was going to use a pencil and ruler as part of an illustration when she casually called my son by name and asked him what he was holding in his hand. All eyes were then turned toward him and at that age, most boys are self conscious anyway. He knew his teacher asked him a question because he heard his name called but he did not have the foggiest idea what she asked!! It was one his most embarrassing moments because everyone was howling with laughter as my son looked at the pencil in his hand...not knowing the question....and appearing that he didn't have a clue what a pencil was. So we can, and should, excuse people when they do not always hear the entire message.
We sometimes hear God. It may be when reading the Word, or when we are in deep thought, or when we are in church or even when we are sleeping. We hear the Word but we sometimes fail to allow the Word to penetrate our thoughts. For this, there is no truly good excuse. We do not want to take the time to think about the message....or we choose to "spin" the message to hear only what makes us comfortable. Some people believe they never hear God. I believe that God speaks to every one of us. His voice may be silent but his message can be heard. He may be telling us to care about all of his children...whether they know and love Him or not! We may hear him but refuse to hear God and instead listen to the "evil" one who loves to counter the message of God....often with TRUTH that is mixed with deception! He might whisper in your thoughts that these people do not deserve your love, your compassion or forgiveness because after all, they do not know God. God only loves those who are good...those who love his Son....etc. We do not know and cannot comprehend the mind of God, but we can hear....ever so slightly....his message. The big step is to be willing to change, to transform our hearts and minds to God's will, not our own. I do not believe this is possible without help from God. For me, there is no question that I am dependent upon God for everything....even the ability to love HIM! Father in heaven, we know you love us and we want to love you and live our lives for you according to your will. Help us to hear you in our thoughts and prayers. Fill us with the Holy Spirit so that our hearts are transformed, so that we are on fire with your love, and open to hear the message that you desire us to hear! We pray that with your help, our lives will be a faithful witness to others, demonstrating clearly to our family, friends and all God's children "what we have seen and what we have heard."
May God Bless Your Day!! Jan Nichols, a Happy Blogger for Michele (my CRHP sister!)
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