Do You Hear God Calling?
John’s clothes were woven from camel hair, and he wore a leather belt; his food was locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from every section of Judea and from all over the Jordan Valley went out to the wilderness to hear him preach. -- Matthew 3:4-5
What would you think of John the Baptist if you met him today? Would you cross the street rather than pass right by him? Would you ignore him? Would you laugh and point? Or would you listen to his message and realize that what he was saying was something you really needed to hear?
Pastor Meghan spoke yesterday about letting the hustle and bustle of the season drown out things we really need to see and hear. We are so focused on shopping and parties and cooking and kids that we forget to make room for the baby in the manger.
Our world is much like the wilderness in which John preached, Pastor Meghan told us. She’s right. Look around you. This past year has brought greater political discord in our nation. Storms ripped through the country, sowing devastation and taking lives. People are homeless and hungry, jobless and sick. Abuse seems rampant with no end in sight.
It’s hard, sometimes, to see the light when everywhere we look just seems so dark. Maybe that’s one reason the holiday season is hard for those who are alone or grieving. Pastor Meghan noted that the blues just seem to be magnified during this joyous season.
But we are not alone. God hears our cries. He sees the strain the busyness of life causes us. He knows the traumas we push down deep inside. He is calling to us -- if we will only hear His voice.
Isaiah had spoke of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness: ‘Prepare a pathway for the Lord’s coming! Make a straight road for him!’” -- Matthew 3:3
Do you hear God calling you to Him? Do you long to answer Him, to be the person He has called you to be? You can be you know. Not by your strength or knowledge, but with His. As Pastor Meghan pointed out, we all need to hear the Good News that God has come down to rescue us, to save us from ourselves and this world of sin.
At Christmas we don’t just celebrate a baby lying in a manger. We celebrate God’s Son, who came down from Heaven to live among us and save us through His blood. That baby became our salvation. That’s what we need to know, to hear and to see.
God has prepared a path for you. The way is straight. Do you hear God calling you? Listen and repent. Receive His forgiveness and know what it is like to truly live.
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