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Able to hear

Many years ago, my grandmother had a unique way of calling her husband. They were from the farmlands of Missouri and she would call, “aw Marvin!” He would never be far from her voice. That worked for them because it was her own distinct way to say, come on home, supper is on or I need you.

The Bible is full of commands to come back home or go tell others about the miracle of salvation; the gift of eternal life. Christians are commanded to “go and tell.” But before we can go, we have to hear God to get the message right. When we look at Isaiah’s call to the priesthood, he had a vision of God as he heard God’s call to the Ministry. In chapter 6:8 God asked who would go and speak His Holy words to an unholy people. Isaiah agreed that very moment. Not every one gets a visit like Isaiah; first, his previous sins were forgiven, then his mouth was given the power to speak the truth. The way scripture is written it sounds like the message God wanted his people to hear, he really didn’t want them to accept it.

But God knew the people would continue to reject Him. The penalty for doing that is separation from God, forever. When Isaiah asked how long he must preach, God’s response was, “until the country goes bankrupt and overrun by others.” Only a small portion would be saved, that is the only promise from God. This did happen, almost all people were taken captive, or murdered. Isaiah knew their rejection in advance and may not have wanted to hear this call but somebody had to do the dirty work — kinda like Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs.

Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says; “go into all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always.” Christians should take this commandment to heart as we search for those whom God places before us. It is no accident that others are placed in our lives. My grandfather could just as well have been out of reach of Grandma’s voice but he wasn’t: in a compassionate way he offered to stay near her presence. God asks the same of us. Be ready and prepared to hear him.

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