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Today's meditation
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Being heard
Matthew 11:2-15: …Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes?...What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”
Minister and author David Augsburger wrote about the power of listening in relationships. He said, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they’re almost indistinguishable.”
I often wonder if people dismiss religion or leave it because the religious seem more intent on talking than on listening. Religion is a seeking of God, and that seeking should motivate people to listen as much as to talk. When religion truly leads us to God, people are strong enough in their faith to help others who are hungry or lost, and to rely on God for their own sense of self-worth and purpose.
Jesus may have hinted toward that need for practical compassion when he described John the Baptist. He first talked of what John—a true prophet—was not. Jesus said that John was not “a reed shaken by the wind,” and did not fit the stereotypical image of “someone dressed in soft robes.” People moved by God may often feel the need to preach to others, but we would more likely interest others in God by listening.
“Being heard” feels just like being loved. And isn’t it the God of love of whom we so ineffectually speak?
Psalms 40, 54; Isaiah 10:5-19; 2 Peter 2:17-22
Copyright 2024 by Carol Mead. For noncommercial use and sharing only. For more information on this ministry, and on a free subscription to these meditations, please contact the author by email (thenewmead@yahoo.com).
Minister and author David Augsburger wrote about the power of listening in relationships. He said, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they’re almost indistinguishable.”
I often wonder if people dismiss religion or leave it because the religious seem more intent on talking than on listening. Religion is a seeking of God, and that seeking should motivate people to listen as much as to talk. When religion truly leads us to God, people are strong enough in their faith to help others who are hungry or lost, and to rely on God for their own sense of self-worth and purpose.
Jesus may have hinted toward that need for practical compassion when he described John the Baptist. He first talked of what John—a true prophet—was not. Jesus said that John was not “a reed shaken by the wind,” and did not fit the stereotypical image of “someone dressed in soft robes.” People moved by God may often feel the need to preach to others, but we would more likely interest others in God by listening.
“Being heard” feels just like being loved. And isn’t it the God of love of whom we so ineffectually speak?
Psalms 40, 54; Isaiah 10:5-19; 2 Peter 2:17-22
Copyright 2024 by Carol Mead. For noncommercial use and sharing only. For more information on this ministry, and on a free subscription to these meditations, please contact the author by email (thenewmead@yahoo.com).