Listening for God’s voice

     

I’ve belonged to several churches in various parts of the world, and I’m grateful to say all of them emphasized the role of spiritual listening—getting close to God, learning to know His voice.

  However, most of the churches I attended took one look at my university teaching qualifications and put me in charge of the senior Sunday School class where debate was more prominent than listening. Superintendents didn’t realize that where I most wanted to be, was among real listeners, the under-tens!

  I didn’t complain, because I believed the president of Wheaton College (Illinois), Philip Ryken, was right when he said that it doesn’t matter how long we’ve studied the Bible, how much we know about it, and how many biblical languages we speak, there’s always something more for us to learn in our journey toward understanding the Scriptures. And I knew that I could be part of that journey among young people of any age.

  After all, one of my favorite passages in Scripture puts it in a Jesus-shaped nutshell: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these”(Matt. 19:14, NIV).

  And this was borne out by a recollection shared by Isaac Villegas in the June 9 issue of The Christian Century. Villegas, a pastor at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, said that once, after he’d read the story about Moses and the burning bush to the seven-year-olds in his class, he lit a candle and asked them to listen to the flame.

  They squinted their eyes and tilted their ears toward the burning wick. He asked them what they thought God’s voice sounded like to Moses.

  “God’s voice crackled!” one child said. “God’s words made a hissing noise, like when I whisper,” said another. “I think God sounded like me,” shouted a student, which provoked a shouting match as each kid claimed God’s tone as an echo of their own.

  Villegas thought he should be a responsible teacher and get control of the class, but couldn’t help laughing at his failure.

  Then a child who had sat in silence during the ruckus spoke up. “No,” she announced, grabbing everyone’s attention. “God sounds like all of our voices, because we learn about God from each other.”

  Villegas smiled gratefully and dismissed the class.

  No wonder we are so often enriched by the wisdom of seven-year-olds!