Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts (Hebrews 3:8) and if you cannot hear his voice, consider whose you’re listening to. Is it the voice of your Shepherd? Or the one of the thief? The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy(John 10:10); as accuser and deceiver (Rev 12:9-10). When you hear the narrative run through your mind, is it riddled with accusations and lies? Or is righteousness and holiness laced throughout? Does your tongue taste of gospel and grace?
If your weapons of warfare are in the flesh (defending your own personal kingdom), you will only see the sister or brother in front of you as your enemy. You will not allow your heart to be shaped by humility, patience, compassion, or love. Instead, you will set yourself up as an enemy of God, even as you seek to bring justice and truth.
We live in a culture that competes for our attention and affection. It places a high priority on experience, acceptance, and achievement. Trusting, listening, looking, and abiding is not for the weak. But when we look to Christ—to what Christ has done on our behalf—we’ll find that nothing compares.
Far too often I think we move into this world from a place of selfish ambition. Far too often we look at other people as if they are too much work or too big of a project. What if instead of work, we saw one another as opportunity and privilege? What if instead of moving toward people with defense and apprehension, we let down our guard and saw them as people the Lord has given us to uncover more of who he is?