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Ears to Hear

Mark 4:9, NIV: Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus taught many things through parables. But what exactly is a parable, and why did He choose to use them? It has been said that a parable is an earthly story, with a heavenly meaning. Perhaps Jesus chose to use parables in an effort to get the carnal minds of men, to consider the depths of heavenly truths. Men and women had heard the teachings of the religious leaders, and had heard them again. Perhaps they had heard the same message so much, that their ears had become dull of hearing. Jesus message was unlike those of the religious leaders. But there were some people so indoctrinated by the religion of the day that their ears could not receive the heavenly truths of Christ. Jesus often concluded his parables by saying something like, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Today, we face similar challenges. We can become dull of hearing--having ears but not hearing--and completely miss out on the heavenly truths Christ desires to reveal to us.

Written for FaithWriters.com
FaithWriters is an online Christian Writer's group.

The Voice of One

It is often a desert, and most certainly desolate. It is the place wherein we stand as one--alone. We dare not rely on the support of others and we are careful not to place false expectations in others. For it is a place where we must go alone, be strong and follow through with what we must accomplish.
The voice of one is often one that is not readily accepted. As you become determined to stand up and be counted, to speak boldly when your words will not be accepted, you will be despised. God's Word in you will cut to the heart--it will move the hearts of some toward repentance; while others will be moved to silence you and everything you stand for--and some of those will be people you would never suspect. Some would be close, maybe within your own church.
Nevertheless, you stand. You receive looks that could kill, looks of bewilderment and looks as though you have simply lost your mind. You are talked to politely, and politely dismissed--and talked about when you are no where around. You are the voice of one crying in a wilderness.
The question has been asked, "If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" John the Baptist made a sound that many heard. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He was proof that the strongest sounds are those that come out from the wilderness.
Many of God's leaders came out from the desert. And while many would see the desert as a solitary, empty and lifeless place, it is a place wherein God brings unity from aloneness, fulfillment from emptiness, and life from lifelessness. For as we empty ourselves of ourselves and make ourselves desolate before the Lord, it is then that He can move in such a way that though it would seem there is none around to hear the sound of what He does, it reaches into the farthest corners of the world.
God still needs the voice of one. One who is willing to forsake the pleasures of this life, to become empty of self and self-gain, to become desolate so that in so doing they can be filled with the might and power of God.
A long time ago, a tree stood silently on a hill. There was nothing that would make it stand out among the other trees. In fact, if it fell it might not have ever been heard. Yet it was taken and fashioned to form a cross, and though it is no longer anywhere to be found, its sound still carries in the air and throughout the world today.
Shall we be the voice of one?
Shall we be willing to cry in the wilderness?
Shall we do our part to prepare others for the coming of our Lord?
There is a world of people who are waiting to hear the voice of one echoed in our lives today--the voice of one, crying in the wilderness.