“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29, NIV 1984)
Many readers are quote gatherers, picking up snippets of excellence from the wisdom of those they read. Quotes are quick, sometimes funny, and—like dynamite—pack a lot of power into a small space.
A little book that sits on my office desk, The Quotable Golfer, is a collection of thoughts and quips about the game, collected by its editor, Robert McCord. Here are a couple of beauties:
“Golf is 20 percent mechanics and technique. The other 80 percent is philosophy, humor, tragedy, romance, melodrama, companionship, camaraderie, cussedness and conversation.” – Grantland Rice“It’s nice to be well liked, but it’s even better to be well liked and respected.” – Meg Mallon, after being named the LPGA’s “most popular player” in 1990
Much of the reading I do, however, is in genres other than sports writing, including devotionals and theology books. In reading one of those this week, Charles Spurgeon’s classic, Morning and Evening, I collected this quote: “If we would hear the whispers of God’s love, our ear must be purged and fitted to listen to his voice.” When I considered that quote in the context of Jesus’ firm teaching in Matthew 5, I understood the insight that this 19th Century pastor was offering to us 21st Century followers of Christ.
Even though I offer the Matthew 5 passage to those who insist they are true literalists when it comes to reading the Bible (I’ve never met any modern believer with an eye or hand missing in an effort to eradicate the sin in their life), I never joke about sin. This passage from the Sermon on the Mount tells us one sure thing: Jesus knew the power of sin to wreck a person’s eternal life.
But even for those who insist that their salvation is taken care of by the covering of Jesus’ blood, Spurgeon offered a similar insight. “Do you want to actually hear this Lord that you say you love?” might have been his words in today’s vernacular. “Then clean your ears, Christian. Stop letting the interfering noise of the world keep you from hearing what Jesus says to you.”
Yes, there’s plenty of noise out there for the modern believer. A bit of it is better than the rest. But none of it is Jesus’ voice. Train yourself in silence. Take time to listen. Let your ears get used to the call and comfort of the Good Shepherd.
—
Jeff Hopper
February 7, 2012
Copyright © 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday through Friday at www.linksplayers.com.