Listen!

“While Jesus is meek and mild, he is neither passive nor a pushover.”

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 2, 2021

Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. Mark 4:3, ESV

While Jesus is meek and mild, he is neither passive nor a pushover.

In an effort to distance ourselves from authoritarian and broken earthly leadership within communities of faith, we often diminish our understanding of Christ’s authority and power in the process. 

The goodness of Jesus the Good Shepherd is rooted in his ability to alert wayward sheep of their fateful course, and lead them into places of peace and rest. A shepherd who naps underneath a tree while sheep roam aimlessly about may not be directly abusive or violent, but is certainly failing to tend to the sheep in his care. We must therefore allow our understanding of Jesus to be shaped by his own life and witness, not the substitutes we create in our hearts and heads.

Jesus enters into a world filled with people sleepwalking their way through life, blinded by sin and unaware of their true purpose and ultimate end. Humanity was created for eternal communion with God, yet instead we war and rage, lust and long, fear and flee, living as slaves to our every desire. Into this world of death and decay, the Sower comes to sow seeds of life, alerting the world to the potential and promise of restoration with a single word: “Listen!”

“Listen!” is both an invitation and a command. For those who are far from the Lord Jesus, it is an invitation to return to his love, to discover (or re-discover) the freedom and life that comes from walking in his ways. Yet it is an invitation that also invites obedience. We listen because his invitation is always one of repentance with the aim of restoration. We cannot listen to Jesus without altering our course and re-directing our steps. His words are words of comfort and love, yet for those who are headed down a path of self-destruction, comfort requires decisive action and love can in the moment feel severe.

Listen to Jesus and respond with obedience. This is the way of faithful discipleship. It is the door of entry into life with Christ, and is the call upon our lives everyday thereafter. If we have ears to hear, let us hear (Matthew 11:15).

Prayer

Father, give us ears to listen to Jesus and obey what we hear, trusting it is for our good and for the healing of the world. Amen.

Application

Spend 5-10 minutes today in silent prayer, simply attentive to Christ with your heart and ears attuned to him and his ways.

Related Reading

Psalm 25:4-5; John 10:27-28; Revelation 3:20

Worship Resource

Passion ft. Matt Redman: The Heart of Worship

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