I saw the look in his eyes and immediately knew something was wrong. He spun around and called out, “Kara! Kara?!” As he held tightly to the toddler in his arms, he ran up the stairs past me, turned around at the landing to try to get a better look above the crowd of people that surrounded us. “Kara! Kara?!” he called. The intensity of his voice and the obvious stress on his face told me all I needed to know. Someone was lost in the crowd.
Over the next few minutes, he continued to call, reached out to one of the park rangers who stood close by, went up and down the stairs, looking intently. The noise of the crowd of people and the music and vocals couldn’t totally drown out the call, over and over, “Kara! Kara?!”
Fortunately, this whole affair only lasted a few minutes. It was then he bound down the stairs, having spotted his little girl among the crowd. He immediately knelt down in front of her and hugged her close. She was oblivious to what had just happened, just interested in the singing and dancing that was happening within the surrounding crowd.
“Didn’t you hear me tell you to stay close to me, honey?” I heard him ask. “I thought I had lost you.”
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9
What you have…heard from me…
I was reminded last night that there is a difference between “hearing” and “listening.” Hearing is a physical process that can be hindered or interrupted, but there is never complete silence in our lives. We are always hearing something. We often hear things we would rather not…and we can become quite good at ignoring those things.
I remember, growing up in a house with a large grandfather clock. The constant sound of this clock was just a part of the background noise of our home. It’s chimes were heard every quarter-hour. On the hour, the chimes played a tune. This constant noise would drive overnight guests mad, lol, so my mother would stop the swinging of the pendulum, during the night. We had trained ourselves to hear, but not listen to the clock. Our guests had not done so.
Listening takes effort and discipline. So does ignoring, as illustrated above, but that is for another day. There are a set of three assumptions Paul is making here about those who have heard from him.
These folks were listening because they valued what Paul was saying. Paul’s visits were important because he came with apostolic authority. He came preaching and teaching among a people who were hungry to hear what he was saying. That’s assumption number one: they were hungry for the truth.
These folks were listening because they engaged with what Paul was saying. Often, Paul would come to town and stay for an extended period, planting churches among the faithful, teaching them what it meant to go from believer to follower…because, there is a difference. In other words, they didn’t just come hungry, they were actively feeding on the truth that Paul was serving up. That’s assumption number two: they were feeding on the truth.
These folks were listening because they sought to apply the truth they had heard. During his extended stays, Paul would make a living as a tent-maker. He would visit house to house and participate in the community. In the words of J.D. Walt, Paul’s consecration would become God’s demonstration, which led to transformation. That’s assumption number three: they were growing in the truth.
So, this begs the question: Are you listening?
Come hungry for the truth. Feed on the truth. Grow in the truth. These take effort. These take discipline. These take genuine faith.
Some of us, like that lost little girl, wander among the crowd, without a care in the world, the voice of our Father being drowned out by the activity around us. All the while, He’s pursuing us, calling us, wanting to embrace us and say, “stick close to me.”
Others, like me and the old grandfather clock, have become pros at ignoring. The truth has become little more than background noise to us. We’ll even “stop the clock” so as not to make others uncomfortable, if you get my meaning.
Father,
Remind us that we are to be “doers of the word and not merely hearers.” Remind us that we are only playing games and deceiving ourselves if we are anything else. May that hunger be ever growing in us to feed on your truth and, by your grace, to be ever-growing into the likeness of Jesus. We’re listening. Speak to us, in accordance with the Truth. Amen.