“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
On the crest of my 64th birthday, the inevitable has come. So facing the music I don’t always hear, I went to my audiologist. I say ‘MY’ because I now have one! The diagnosis was as I expected and her words were prophetic…”you have significant hearing loss and if you ‘WANT’ to hear you will need hearing aids.” I LOVE people who simply ‘tell it like it is.’ That she is a Christian is a plus! The question hung in the air as I left her office… ‘if you WANT to hear.’
Pastors spend a lot of time alone, studying, praying, meditating, preparing, recovering. But the other times are with people. It had been O.K. for me to miss some things in conversation. My squealing grandkids really didn’t need to be heard as much as watched. But lately I have noticed missing names of people, their comments, their stories. All because I inherited my parents ears!
Though my parents have been gone for years, the stories persist. Like the time my mother, eating peanuts with her hearing aids out, accidentally popped one in her mouth… CRUNCH! Like my dad’s pulling his out of his ears as we walked into the house with the kids. Apparently some noise NOT be enhanced! And the tinnitus?? I live, as he did, with screaming in my ears like an electric motor needing oiled! “Do I WANT to hear?” she asked.
When God wanted Moses He lit up a tree with fire! When He called Isaiah, He did so after summoning him before His heavenly throne. The same way with John in ‘The Revelation.’ Rebellious years of saying to God, “if you want me you’ve got to be miraculous in your call,” are LONG gone. The verse today is all the call He is going to give me. And to YOU TOO, most likely. NOT heeding is rebellion!
The most precious and enjoyable times I have spent on this planet are the times I have shared Jesus Christ with people. Whether for salvation or maturing, the sweetness of witnessing fills my heart with joy. He promises that the joy will linger for eternity when He will bless me for being faithful. It is my purpose!!! Do I WANT to hear, act, reach out, touch, witness and make a difference for Him here on earth? Do YOU? No question! I am getting the hearing aids!
