Scripture: Matthew 11:15
Jesus said, “Let anyone with ears listen!”
Thought for the Day: Larry King has been and continues to be an interesting character. Over the years, he has offered some rather interesting ideas and proverbial thoughts. Among his many maxims and quips, he offered the following: “I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.” For most of us, it takes a lot of effort to turnoff our mouths and flip our ears to the ON position. We might even look as if we are listening, but our minds are racing with how to word our next response. When Jesus invited those with ears to listen, it sure sounds like a gentle way of suggesting that people, “Shut up and pay attention.” Not long ago, my son said that someone had used the ’S’ word at school. When I gave him permission to repeat what he had heard, he hesitantly said, “Shut up.” In our household, that’s not appropriate language. It appears that Jesus was in agreement. At the same time, he understood how often religious values and beliefs are construed because people have listened only to the words (if that), but not the heart of the message. Wars between religions and fights between denominations have often occurred because people focused on particular words at the expense of the real point. The beauty of Jesus’ approach was his ability to keep it simple and on point – Love the Lord and love your neighbor. Yet even then, we seem to be able to muck it up by asking the question, “Whose my neighbor?” (as the lawyer did in Luke 10:25ff) while never really intending to listen to the response.
Prayer: Encourage me, Holy God, in the ongoing work necessary to listen. It is not in my nature, yet there is so much to enrich my life if only I pause long enough to heed and perceive what others are saying. Amen.
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