My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:5 NIV)
No doubt you have at one time or another been criticized for not listening. When you were a teenager – you were probably told when asked to look for something that you failed to see what was right in front of you. Even as adults we will sometimes overlook things, because we are preoccupied and not focused. We set ourselves up to be labeled as unthoughtful or inconsiderate. Along with the influence of the other senses, seeing and hearing combine to assist us in navigating through the world. Our personal history, however, shows that we are often led by misperceptions. Add to that the increasingly prevailing attitude that we are often expected to conform to what others believe, we are afforded little tolerance when we attempt to develop our own sense of individuality.
The religious leaders in Jesus’ time often acted with contempt. To contest their doctrines, Jesus gave indication that many of them were both spiritually deaf and blind. When asked by His disciples why He spoke to the people in parables, His answer was simply this: “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables. For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand” (Matthew 13:12-13 NLT). It’s as if He was saying: ‘Those who reject me are spiritually blind because they automatically cast-off any understanding of who I am. The truth sounds foolish to them, and if they hear it – they do not comprehend that it is God’s truth and therefore fail to take it to heart.’
Each of us has times in our life when we are blinded by and deafened to God’s truth because we have become subject to the deception that is in the world. The goal of the Great Deceiver (Satan) is to devour the weak who fall prey to temptation, fear, loneliness, worry, and depression. Jesus said: “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” (Matthew 6:22-23 NLT). Every day our thoughts and concentrations are bombarded with rather dark ideas from print, electronic and social media, as well as those around us. It’s easy to be deceived, unless we take the opportunity to renew our mind. God wants us to listen more intently for His voice and also to see with greater clarity the blessings He has placed right in front of us, including His Word. When we do this, our light will shine for the world (Matthew 5:16) and those around us will know, without a doubt, that we have truly seen and heard.
REFLECTION: Are there ways you might consider changing some of the sources of what you daily see and hear to better reflect God’s Word and consistency with His character? How might you help others who are not thinking objectively based upon the sources for what they see and hear?
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