God said, "Listen Up!"

Every now and then I get hooked on a word. The one that has been bouncing around in my head lately is, looking. Reminds me of my school days when we were taught in kindergarten to, Stop, Look, and Listen. It was another world back then. In the city we did not have all the stop lights we have now. Back then, most corners were just that. One way stopped and one way drove through. As children we were taught all about crossing streets. I was in school when I was only four so my mom walked me to the corner and then stood there as I walked the six blocks straight ahead into the school yard. I crossed one corner with help and six on my own. At each corner she watched to see if I indeed, Stopped, Looked and Listened. How she could tell if I was listening, I have no idea.
As I sit here in my study, with my open bible on the desk I wonder if we really listen to God anymore. Or should I say, for God. The thing that should distinguish Christians from normal people, or those who make no room for God in their lives, is our willingness to listen to God. We listen to God while normal people ignore Him. But are we listening?
In the last little while I have developed a way of asking questions to questions. I figured Jesus did it so maybe I can as well. I have people come to me all the time with important questions. They ask about what they should do in this situation or circumstance. These are important questions, not just, what should I wear to church? My answer is almost exclusively: “What do you think?” Then I listen.
I listen to people who know what God wants for each and every one of us because this is what they tell me. What I hear is the real answer. They have it, they know it, but they are afraid it is the right answer and not the answer they want to hear. We all want the answer which fits to our agenda. The problem is, our life listens to a God who knows what is best for all of us.
Over the last 20 years, while going to the gym here in Hamilton, I have had opportunity to get to know a good number of people as we work to postpone the inevitable. One such person was a gentleman, a couple of years younger them me, who did listen. In fact he knew all the answers, he just didn’t want to hear them. You see, he had a secret he didn’t want anyone to know. He had a platonic girlfriend. They connected so well and talked so much. Over a number of months, as we talked, he began to confide in me. I was the only one he had shared this with. His question, “Should I leave my wife and child to be with her and to find some happiness?” To which I responded, “You know what the bible says, but what do you think?” He shared with me his heart but he didn’t move. We continued to talk over time as he stayed with his family.
One day this question took on an urgency and a new meaning for him, desperation. It was one of the last times that I saw him. I remember it as a cloudy fall day, not unlike today. “Got a minute?” “Sure, what’s up?” He made this statement, “I really don’t know what to do now. I was told by the doctor this week that I have less then six months to live. What should I do?” I knew he was asking the same question he had a few months before. I replied, “What do you think you should do?” It was the most difficult time I have had to use that line. It was also one of the most important times. At this moment I watched someone wrestling with life, love and losing . . . and winning.
Today, I ask all of you, “What do you think you should do?” Listen to God? Is it time to stop what we are doing and thinking, look to God and listen to what He has to say?
Just a thought.