A PEANUTS cartoon shows Schroeder with a record of Brahms’s Fourth symphony. “Whataya going to do with it?” asks Lucy. “Listen to it.” says Schroeder. “You mean dance to it or sing along with it or tap your feet to it?” asks Lucy . “No, just listen to it.” replies Schroeder. “Dumbest thing I ever heard.” says Lucy. Lucy’s response reminds us how hard we modern people find it to truly listen. We have to be doing something. How often do we have the radio, or the television on while we are doing something else? We hear the words being spoken, but we don’t really listen to them, pay attention to them, or ask whether there is a message there for us. At best the words are simply background noise for us. We’re not truly attentive to them. There is a danger that the same sort of thing can happen with God’s word. We hear it at church or somewhere else, but we don’t truly listen to it. But if we don’t listen to it, we easily miss what God wants to do for us or what He is asking of us. When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, the voice from the cloud didn’t say “This is my Son, love Him,” or “This is my Son, reach out to Him,” or “This is my Son, worship Him.” The voice said, “This is my Son, listen to Him.” In other words, let Him guide your life. Let Him help you determine what you should be doing to find peace and joy. Let Him lead you to good pasture. Each of us needs to be sure we are listening to the Lord, not just hearing Him.
