To Hear Deep Within.

The following understanding has suddenly become important to me as my hearing has shown deterioration as I age. My lack of care and use of guns and enjoyment of loud music has taken its toll. I have found out that to hear we require a functioning organ inside the ear.  A defective corti will not produce sound that is audible

A similar thing might be said about the sense of sight. To see properly we require not only a well formed and clear lens, we require an optic nerve that is undamaged, one that can translate the complete signal from the eye to the brain. We hear in scripture that Jesus can heal these things when they are damaged - indeed he spent much of his time doing so, not just in the Decapolis area, but in the region of Tyre and Sidon, in Galilee and the area beyond the Jordan, and in Samaria and Jerusalem.

As it is for the physical senses of sight and hearing, so it is for the spiritual senses of sight and hearing. We all require spiritual organs inside the ear, spiritual sensors, if we are to hear the word of God and see that his kingdom is at hand. Otherwise we have but words and images that mean nothing to us. Words and images that, are incapable of being translated by us into the works and deeds of faith.

How many of us have the words of God's love fall upon our ears but we have not heard them?  How many of us have had the images of God's presence fall upon our eyes but we have not seen them?  How many of us have all the words of faith in our brains and have become familiar with heavenly mysteries and spiritual visions, yet we do not live by faith or work the works of God?

In scripture, we read that, "Jesus does everything well, he even makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.  He gives sight to the inwardly blind, and makes the lame to walk." Even as Jesus opened the ears of the man born deaf, we ascertain that he can give us the ability to hear and he can touch us. He can open our ears and our eyes and make the sensory signals that come to us from every direction get through to our spiritual centre, to that place where they can be translated from meaningless words and visions to the words and deeds of a living faith.

Jesus can touch us so that we really can see how we discriminate against some and show favour to others and enable us to love all people as he loves all people - equally as brothers and sisters, without judgement or bias or reserve. Jesus can touch us so that we really hear the cries of the needy around us, and can bring them the word that they need. Jesus can touch us so that we can be those who bear his healing touch to others.

Jesus can touch us so that we can hear his voice when we feel lost and

alone and enable us to have a hope within us and a peace around us that not

only carries us up in his arms, but which also carries others up with us. Jesus does all things well. And through Jesus God calls us to do so as well. He wants us to be healed - both inwardly and outwardly, He wants us to be whole, to be able to hear, and see, and speak, and do - both in the body, and in the spirit.

As Christians, we pray that we may reach out to Jesus, as he reaches out to us. But this is not just limited to Christians but all can call on Jesus, ask him to open their eyes and their ears, to loosen their tongues and give power to their hands for God has promised that those who come to him Jesus will not be cast out.