The Shepherd and the Sheep
I can recall getting in trouble when I was a boy because I didn't remember what I had been told. The problem wasn't that I didn't listen; the problem was that I didn't remember. Remembering seems to be a critical issue for most of us. Maybe that's why the Lord said in Luke 9:44, 'Let this sink down into your ears.'
We all have a history of forgetfullness which tends to reveal the present priority of our lives. That certainly isn't to say that if I forget an important event, it isn't of value or importance to me. It just reveals the fact that, at the moment, there were ofher things that dominated and captured my attention. That won't excuse us from our neglect, nor remove us from the responsibility of being thoughtless.
In John 10:27-30, we are given the specific responsibilities of both sheep and shepherd:
The Sheep:
1. 'My sheep hear my voice' (our receptivity);
2. 'I know them' (His response);
3. 'And they follow me' (our obedience).
The Shepherd:
1. 'I give them eternal life' (freedom from peril)
2. 'They shall never perish' (priceless protection)
3. 'No one shall pluck them out of my hand' (our security)
The scriptures say, 'He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches' Revelation 2 and 3. Jesus consistently spoke of the need to listen, to hear, and to remember (Matthew 13:9; Mark 4:9; Luke 14:35). This consistent, recurring theme in the words of our Lord certainly speaks of a needed priority that the Lord desires to be established in our lives. As an undershepherd, I continue to pray that the Lord will help me to remove any build-up of spiritual wax that restricts my hearing and that He will give me strength to rearrange some of my priorities so that I give attention to the things He declares are important for me to give attention to.
My real purpose in writing is to underscore again for us the need to be careful and to remember what the Lord has spoken to us collectively as a congregation, and personally as a son or daughter of God. I'm inviting, in these days, the Holy Spirit to come and spiritually wash our ears and open again the channel through which His wisdom and words can flow.
Learning to listen,
Ron Mehl"