Saturday, April 12, 2008

 

Unconditional Love Series

 

Romans 10:17 “consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  But I ask you, did they not hear?”   

 

Stop Talking! And Listen To God! 

 

I have always loved life and had some sense of giftedness as a conversationalist.   I have commonly joked that Averette will die of worn-out eardrums.   My sister would go lock herself in her room as a child so that I would not talk to her.  I can remember sitting outside her door and talking to her about my day through the closed, locked door to her room.   I was perfectly bumfuzzled when my grandmother would say to me, “God gave you two ears and only one mouth.”    The obvious intent of my grandmother’s words were for me to listen twice as much as I talked.   That never happened!     I enjoy conversations with people.  If you asked my running buddies they will tell you that I can talk all the way through a five mile run and never get winded.   

 

In our world today people constantly are in touch through cell phones.  It seems as though every driver is now talking on the cell phone.   MP3 players are everywhere a part of the youth culture.   TV’s, movies, noise, are all a part of our culture.

 

Nearly three centuries ago, Søren Kierkegaard, said if he was a doctor and allowed to prescribe just one remedy for the ills of his world he would prescribe silence.   There is much noise and busyness in the world.   I love to talk and to be in conversation.   But silence, as well, is a great teacher.   I have learned that in reading the Bible, generally to myself, I can hear God speak.    Isaiah 55:3 says, “Give ear and come to me; hear me that your soul may live.”   God desperately wants to direct our lives.  Unless we listen to Him we cannot hear God’s direction.   It is said that the eyes are the window of the soul, I believe the ears are the gateway to the soul.   By hearing God we can truly understand His desire for us.  

 

Romans 10:17 says “consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  But I ask you, did they not hear?”    The truth from that text in Romans may be we do not hear because we are so busy talking and even busier still being entertained that we don’t have time to hear the word of God as He speaks to our heart in a variety of ways. 

 

Let us promise today to take time to hear from the voice of God.  

 

Prayer:

Dear God, help me to listen to your words today.  Help me to be quiet and hear.  Amen.