You can shout all you like...
We know that God does not listen to sinners; he does listen to people who respect him and do what he wants them to do. Since the beginning of the world nobody has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. Unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing. John 9 : 31 - 33 (GNB) |
There are two key points that John tells us in our passage this week. Firstly we see that God is selective in who he chooses to listen to. Secondly when God does listen to us he has the power to do things which far exceed the capabilities of us humble humans.
So let's start with the first point 'God does not listen to sinners'. This is pretty clear cut and does not leave much scope for interpretation! But what does this mean for us. Well if we were doing it in our own strength, trying to justify why we deserve GodÂ’s attention through our works or behaviour, we would definitely find ourselves in the sinners' camp. We would find ourselves separated from God, shouting as loud as we could to no avail.
Fortunately this is not the case for us, because of our relationship with Jesus. Because of Jesus our past is forgiven. We are on God's friend list and are free to have all of the conversations with God that we can handle, and develop our relationship with him.
Like all relationships it is a two way thing. God wants to take an interest in you and do great things in your life. However the conversation and the relationship only work when you are prepared to do the same thing. As we can see in our passage Jesus clearly has God's ultimate power. Yet he chose (and continues to choose) to use it to help those who trust and respect him, and turn to him for help.
This week, if you feel you are not being listened to don't start shouting. Instead take a moment to look at your relationship with God. Have you been showing him the respect that he deserves, or is there something hurting it which you need to address before trying again? Have a great week.
This week's song is Shout it out by the Vertical Church Band. |
Header image by: Norm4nNorm4l via Flickr