Good Morning!
It is always amazing how people react to hearing
what they do not want to hear. Some
young children will stick their fingers in their ears and make blathering
noises to drown out what is being said.
I have had confirmation students who, when faced with facts they don’t
want, will bring up a fact that has absolutely nothing to do with the
topic. Their goal is to confuse the
situation. When they become adults,
their answer is to claim that they have a different set of facts to counter the
other set of facts.
One of
my favorite quotes is, “sir you are entitled to your own opinions, but you are
not entitled to your own facts.” There
is a lot or truth in that statement. We
often want to have our own truth, our own set of facts. This is what Paul means when he talks about
itching ears. We hear the truth, but we
filter it and hear what we want in the way that we want. We do this because our sinful nature wants to
have its own truth.
Our
sinful nature wants us to have a different set of facts. It wants us to believe that we are better off
hearing what we want to hear. It wants
to tell us that our truth, whatever that is, however it changes, is the best
truth. Of course, this is also why we
end up lost, hurt, lonely, and in a state of hopelessness. When our ears itch and filter God’s truth and
try to spin the “facts” to lead us astray, that is how the world, and our
sinful nature tries to control us.
This
is why it is so critical that we listen closely to God’s voice, to his
Word. The world will tell us to worry
about no one but our self. God calls
upon us to love our neighbor. The world
tells us that everything is ours to take yet God created us to take care of
creation, to have dominion not domination.
Our life is better when we live according to God’s will. This is not because of some enforced law but
because we, like any other created thing, are best fit to serve the purpose for
which we were designed. God created us
to worship and praise him, to love one another and to take care of the
creation. We are most content when we
live that life. This is the rhythm which
best suits us. It is when we seek a
different truth that we again have itching ears.
So, as
we look for truth, we know that the source of all truth is Jesus. We know his word is true, his actions are
true, we know his love for us is true.
We know his promise of salvation is true. This is what we hold on to. This is the truth that we need. Our ears will still itch from time to time,
but God’s truth will sound through if we have faith and faith comes through
hearing God’s Word, the true Word.
Father
of love and mercy, your Word is truth, and it moves us to follow you, to trust
in you, to live our lives holding onto the promise of salvation. Keep us from itching ears. Give us the faith and the courage to hold
onto your incredible grace. Be with
those who are struggling with life today.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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