“Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Luke Chapter 8: 19-21
What does this mean? What is “hearing and doing?”
Hearing: It means more than just “noticing” noise or listening to a person give a lecture. It has to do with focused attention—giving heed to, and deciding to believe in, what’s being articulated. Have I heard the words of Jesus? Is my preacher or priest speaking the words of Jesus—-i.e. the “word of God”, or is it just noise?
Doing: It’s not admitting that I need to change or give up on the way I am living, its doing something about it. It’s one thing to be sorry about the way I live (or that I got caught) but quite another to turn around and walk in another direction.
But “doing” what? The “doing” seem to refer first seeking, asking and knocking—-i.e. an earnest pursuit of God—-a yearning and a passion for Him. And following that, the “what” is entering into a new life of obedience and love. They go hand in hand. If I obey Him I will love Him and I will His creatures—i.e. mankind; and if I love Him I would not want to enter into any kind of behavior that would interfere with that love relationship. True obedience to God, at it were, is an extension of love, not my anxious reaction to the oppressive demand of a despot.
Who then are the true children of God? Those that live lives of love. How can you see that a man or woman loves God? By the manner in which they love others. It comes to reason, then, that a person that is not loving others, does not know the love of God and is also not living a life of obedience to God.
May we hear more than noise from those that lead us spiritually and may those we turn to for counsel give us the “word of God” in these times of trouble.
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