Listen With Care
Luke 18: 35-42
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”
Listen With Care
How well do you listen to others?
I remember one particular Saturday where I was working at home and my daughter was trying to get my attention. She was saying, “dad… dad… dad…”, over and over again. My mind was filled with expectations about what I needed to get done and I was mentally sorting out how to tackle them. Finally, in exasperation she yelled out, “DAD… CAN’T YOU HEAR ME?!!!”
This got me out of analytical thinking bubble as I looked at her and irritatingly asked, “what is it that you want?!” She stared at me in frustration and said, “you never listen. Just forget it.” And then she walked away. I quickly realized the mistake I made and went after her to apologize. She would have nothing to do with it. In that moment, it was indeed, “too late.”
In discussing this with other parents, I realized I was not alone in this experience. But it did cause me to want to change my listening skill set so I might better hearwhat others were saying. I have found that the ability to REALLY listen well is a rare quality that very few have developed.
I encourage you to take a few minutes to sit with the words of Jesus in Luke 18:35-43. Read this story of a time in His life where he heard the call of a blind beggar. There is so much we can learn from him in this interaction with this man.
The question I learned to silently ask myself as I engage in a conversation with someone is, “Are you fully present with this person right now?” It is a quick way for me to assess if I am capable of listening in that moment. This READ strategy can also help you hear others well:
Repeat what the person shared until they let you know they feel heard.
Experience— can you name the emotions the other person experienced in the story they shared?
Affirm every true thing you can about their position or experience.
Disclose—only now do you “disclose” your thoughts or offer a challenge.
This Sunday morning we will unpack this some more. I hope to see you then!
Grate to walk this journey with you,
Pastor John
Free BLESS ebook: https://covchurch.org/evangelism/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2017/02/Discover-Your-Mission-Now-by-Dave-Ferguson.pdf