Whose Voice Am I Listening To?
Pastor’s Column
4th Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2020
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“The sheep follow him [Jesus], because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
(from John 10:1-10)
Am I able to hear and recognize the voice of God in my life? Or do I tend to follow the voice of “strangers”? Sometimes there is so much media, noise and distractions in our lives that we cannot hear the Lord. My grandparents who raised me bought one of the very first TV sets in 1950. People came from all over the neighborhood to watch it! It was a small round picture about a foot wide. Of course, I wish I still had that old set (not to watch, but as a piece of furniture). Just imagine for a moment all the voices and opinions that we have all heard through TV, movies, radio, and now the internet: so many opinions! Who is wise enough to recognize God's voice amid all of this?
So many today purport to have all the answers, yet in these Coronavirus times that we all are living through together we get conflicting opinions from many quarters as to the best way to handle this as a nation and in the world. Other voices who have no conception that we are created beings or of the reality of God can easily lead us astray. We are, in fact, loved by God who wishes us to find him, choose him (with faith and how we live) and who offers us eternal life if we but listen to his voice.
While media voices, stars and opinion makers may give conflicting answers, there is one voice, one opinion, one set of life rules and principles that will still be around, still being read until the last day that humans walk the earth, and that is the voice of Jesus Christ.
How can you recognize his voice in this world? He will be the one telling you that how you look isn't really that important; that money isn't everything; that what matters is not how popular we are with others but what our Lord's opinion is of us that counts; that what we give to others is more important than what we get. We will find him in the Bible and in church teaching. When we are kind to someone in any way, it is always Christ. To choose love is to choose Christ, because his voice always encourages us to trust and to love, no matter how tough things may be at the moment.
The voice of the Good Shepherd can be hard to hear over the noise of this world and all its distractions, but it is vital that we listen to it. For that voice will be the only one still speaking on the last day of our lives.
