God is speaking to ME!

Reflecting on Luke 7:24-35

"The one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John." (Luke 7:28)

John was a prophet, through whom God was speaking to people.
A prophet is a messenger, one who conveys an important message.
What matters most of all is the message, not the messenger.
Messengers can come in varying forms and ways.
The word 'angel' literally means a messenger.
Think of Balaam and his donkey speaking to him.
What mattered was not the messenger (donkey), but the message.

God is always speaking to us, trying to get our attention.
That message may be direct or indirect, through plain words or parables.
It takes wisdom to discern how God is speaking to us, and what He is saying.
How is God comforting us, or challenging us, or calling us to respond?
A wise person pays attentions, lingers and ponders what it hears and sees.

According to Luke, the people sensed the rightness of Jesus's words (Luke 7:29).
But the religious leaders and experts missed the point.
They refused to accept their role as God's messengers.
And they refused to listen to God's messengers.
They found any excuse to ignore John and Jesus.
John was too restrained, Jesus was too liberal (Luke 7:33-34).
The real reason was that they did not want to hear God's message.

We can find all kinds of reasons to criticize a minister and their sermons.
Too long or short, too shallow or academic, too conservative or liberal...
But wisdom looks beyond these things to hear the Voice of God.
When I was a minister, I learned to even hear God in unfair criticisms.
The message matters more than the messenger.
Messengers, no matter how great they are, are beneath their audience.
The people God speaks to matter more than the servant being spoken through.

I am comforted by how important I am to God as His child.
God speaks to me in all my experiences and encounters with others.
Though I am a sinner like everyone else, God chooses to speak to me.
Jesus is God coming to me, wanting to eat and drink with me.
Jesus is God speaking to me encouraging, warning and helping me.
Whenever I listen to a sermon, or read a book, I can hear His Voice.
The sermon may be great or lousy, inspiring or boring.
But as God's child, I am eager to hear my Father's Voice.

I am convicted for being to judgy or critical of messengers I don't like.
It is not my job to judge them as messengers but to listen for God's message.
When I am critical, I am just like the religious leaders.
I don't have to agree with what they say, but I do need to discern God's wisdom.
Yes, God can teach us through bad teachers and boring sermons.
If we are open and listening, there is always wisdom to be discovered.

Jesus is calling me to pay attention to God, to be discerning and wise.
What can I learn from this sermon, this book, or this criticism?
What does this experience teach me about God, myself or others?
What life lesson is there in this situation or struggle?
I am meant to be a student, always listening and learning.
Jesus is meant to be my Teacher, always teaching and helping me learn.

Am I open and listening... or am I critical and closed?

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I want to hear Your Voice, God's message of love to me. Comfort me with God's love, convict me with God's love, and compel me towards God's love. Help me to learn and grow through all the ways that You are speaking to me.