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.
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