Are You Listening?
But the house of Israel will not be
willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me; because all
the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. – Ezekiel 3:7
And go to the exiles, to your people,
and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear
or refuse to hear.” – Ezekiel 3:11
Are you listening to God? Or are you so focused on
what you believe that you miss what God actually says?
The other day I shared a quote about how harsh
judgements push people away from God while the light of God reflected in us
draws people near. I was amazed, though not surprised, by how many people didn’t
“like” the comment. Why? Because it spoke directly to what they do and say.
I am always appalled at the hatred and pure meanness
that comes from the mouths and actions of people who claim faith in Jesus. I
wonder if they have ever read the Bible. Do they really see and hear how Jesus
dealt with people? Can’t they understand how He loved people first, then showed
them a better way?
But their hearts have been hardened against the truth
of the gospel. They are so busy judging that they miss the love they’re
supposed to show. It doesn’t mean excusing sin. It means drawing people toward
Jesus rather than pushing them away.
It’s not about Jesus. I know that even if they don’t.
They’re too focused on being “right” to actually see and hear the way Jesus
sees and hears us. We have failed to become like Paul, so filled with gratitude
for what Jesus has done for us that we will do whatever we can to serve Jesus
and spread His gospel to the lost and broken.
The Israelites didn’t want to hear Ezekiel either.
This prophet, who was exiled to Babylon, spoke God’s truth but it fell on silent
ears. We’re much the same. We prefer to surround ourselves with like-minded
people rather than fill our hearts with His Word. We call ourselves justified.
I call it being a modern-day Pharisee.
Now those are the ones who will definitely bring out
the anger in Jesus. No matter how loving and kind Jesus was to the people who
flocked to Him, Jesus was furious with the rule-makers who held themselves
above everyone else. Attending church, wearing the right clothes and giving the
right amount of tithe, doesn’t cleanse your soul from pride. Looking down on
the masses, the liberals, those who are poor, doesn’t justify your condemnation
of those you view as “lesser” than yourself.
God still speaks loudly to all of us if we will only
listen. But our hearts are too hard and our eyes too blind to see the truth of
His message. Our nation is falling away from His truth and the ones leading the
way are those most loudly proclaiming Him as Lord. He is Lord – but not of
their hearts.
What are you missing in His message today? What
untruth do you believe because the conservative masses tell you it’s so? What
are you doing to promote healing, to shine His light on this dark world? If you
aren’t reaching out in kindness to those you consider to be the least, then you
aren’t listening to anything He’s saying.
No comments:
Post a Comment