| Two budgies live with us: Chimborazo (named after a mountain in Ecuador) and Furbie (no idea why). Over the years, we have had lots of budgies and saddled them with humourous names. “Moose” and “Whiskers” are two such examples. Budgies make great pets. They are playful, full of life and joy, love to sing, and fill a room with energy. And they can be loud. Sometimes when we are watching TV, we have to turn on the subtitles because we can’t hear. If you have ever had an extended phone or Zoom conversation with me while I’m at home, you know what I’m talking about. You can hear them in all their cheepie gloriousness. We do let them fly around and that can get noisy too. When they cheep and fly . . . it is heaven on earth. Admittedly, not being able to hear the TV or even hold a conversation is a downside. Healthy relationships require being able to listen. To hear. According to James, listening is more important than talking. Words Matter: Obedience. Did you know that the Biblical words like obey, obedience, obedient, etc. are all sourced in words that mean “to hear, to listen?” The stress is not on “doing.” It is on hearing and knowing. From our perspective, it is often easier - and much more gratifying - to do, to pursue compliance and conformity. Easily measured, these techniques of spirituality allow us to create rankings relative to those around us. We avoid the difficult task of pursuing wisdom, learning faith-life skills, of listening carefully to God through the study of His Word. We can relegate God to the role of resource rather than acknowledge Him as Redeemer. Of course, having heard the truth there must also be accompanying action. James warns us about the person who looks in the mirror (“hears” the Word of God) and does nothing. Once we look in the mirror, hear the Word, we must respond. This is a matter of sequence and priority. God is not seeking compliance - at least not as a means to relationship. He doesn’t want conformity (Hosea 6:6). His heart’s desire is that we would enjoy a relationship with Him. That is why He has made Himself known to us. Not just in abstract, fuzzy terms of a “higher power,” but in personal, engaging ways. His acts of providence happen in the time and space He has created and are recorded for us as the Scriptures. The greatest act of “knowability” occurred when God became man, lived amongst those He created, and willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice so we could be reconciled back to Him. We know these things not through generations of accumulated creative imagination, but because we can hear and listen to His Word. This is not an attempt to reconstruct the ideas of holiness, righteousness, and godly living. It is an attempt to re-frame them as expressions of a healthy, refreshing, joyful relationship with the Living God instead of a duty to be performed. By the time Jesus came on the scene, faith had been reduced to an algorithm. The detailed list of dos and don’ts were not only filled with contradictions, there were “scholars” who engaged in endless debate about how each nuance should be understood. It was exhausting. But to be accepted in the community you had to conform. To this generation of God followers, overwhelmed with the issues of conformity and compliance, Jesus said:
It wasn’t by doing more, by striving to be better. It was by learning - listening - to Jesus they would find rest. It is a pursuit of relationship with Jesus, learning of His nature and character, and reflecting that to those around us. Rather than being wearied by the pursuit of compliance and conformity, let’s be refreshed by learning - listening - to His Word. Carefully “listening” to what the Holy Spirit has recorded in its pages will instruct us as loyal citizens of God’s Kingdom, will train us in righteousness, and will refresh our hearts and minds. Can we each take a few moments today to “listen” to the Word? Can we pause to hear the encouraging words of Scripture that teach us the infinite love and care of the Creator God, that equip us to live in righteousness (not just compliance)? Can we allow them to correct and restore? Let’s listen and be refreshed! Hear the gentle voice of Jesus encouraging us today! |
