The Ministry of
Listening
By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
© 2001
My grandfather was a veteran of the First World War
and fought on the battlefields of Europe.
According to my dad, my grandfather never spoke to his wife or either of his
sons about any of his experiences during the war. I would venture to say that
only those who have experienced the death and destruction of war personally
could fully comprehend his silence. The visual pictures and emotions that
remained locked in his memories were closely guarded. It was surprising
therefore, when one summer he slightly opened the door to one of those memories
and let me look inside.
I was probably only ten years old and my family had
taken a trip back to Oklahoma
to visit my grandparents. We decided to visit my Uncle Bob in Kansas
as well and take in the Eisenhower
Museum. As we toured the
museum with my grandfather we saw numerous pictures, documents and weapons of
the First and Second World Wars.
As we entered one room where larger weapons were
displayed, I felt a tug on my arm. It was my grandfather.
He said, “Come
here. I want to show you what I did in the war.”
Curious about what he had to show me I followed. I
walked with this elderly patriot across the room where a machine gun was
sitting mounted on a tripod. A long chain of bullets hung down from its side.
My grandfather pointed at the gun and said, “I ran one of those in the war.”
“Really.” I replied.
“Yes. Another soldier and I would set
it up and strafe as much of the battlefield in front of us as we could, then we
would pick it up run 100 yards and do it again.”
At the time it was hard for me to imagine my frail
grandfather running and carrying this huge machine gun. I'm not sure if I
really fathomed the seriousness with which he shared his experience. Neither
did I appreciate the importance of the fact that this might well have been the
first and only time he had shared anything with anyone concerning the war. I
watched as my grandfather examined the weapon with his eyes and then he slowly
closed the door to his experiences as we continued on through the museum. He
never spoke to me about the war again.
I look back on that experience with my grandfather
and realize it as a special moment. I will never know the purpose or reason for
my grandfather sharing such privileged information with me. Possibly his
memories of warfare were brought to the surface in the museum and he needed
someone who could be trusted to share them with? Maybe he needed someone who
would listen and refrain from asking penetrating questions that might open
painful old wounds? I believe there is a lesson here for us as Christians.
Scripture instructs us to bear one another's burdens.
(Galatians 6:2) When we read this scripture we often take it to mean that we
must minister through financial or material assistance. Some of us might also
include spiritual counsel or prayer for those who are carrying an overwhelming
burden. I might suggest one more possibility, the ministry of listening.
Sometimes people simply need someone to listen. In these situations, they don't
need money or food. They quite possibly will reject our counsel and even our
offer to pray for or with them. Sometimes all they want is someone to honestly
and quietly listen to what they have to share.
When we listen to people we show respect. We
demonstrate our love and concern by shutting our mouths and opening our ears to
hear the pain, the suffering, and the burdens that are on their hearts. This is
often hard to do. How often do we develop our response before we have fully
listened to those we are listening to? How often do we get impatient with
someone who is talking because we want to put in our two cents worth?
Jesus gives us a lesson in listening. In Matthew 19
children are brought to Him for Him to talk with, pray for and minister to. The
disciples rebuked those who brought them to Jesus. To the disciples, Jesus was
too important to be listening to the talk of young children. They felt He
needed to be discussing spiritual matters with adults, people who, they
thought, had real problems. Jesus harshly chastises the disciples and gives us
an object lesson for ministry. No need is too small, no mind so immature, no
expression so mundane that it should be ignored by those who desire to follow
Jesus and minister to others. Jesus gives us a very important lesson in
listening in this passage. He demonstrates His extreme interest in the thoughts
and needs of these children and compares them to those who honestly and
truthfully seek His kingdom. He shows us that even the most simple and innocent
people need to be heard.
When I consider how often I overlook and sometimes
ignore the needs and sharing of others it is rather humbling. We need to
sensitize our hearts and open our ears for those who desire us to listen to
them. There may be a good reason that God gave us two ears and only one mouth.
If we become a good listener, people will seek us out not only for us to
listen, but to share counsel from the Lord and hopefully the gospel with them.
Good listening is the foundation that builds trust in relationships.
Our Heavenly Father listens to us constantly. There
is never a prayer He does not hear or a need He does not address. He is always
interested in what we have to say. We need to follow His example and seek to be
better attentive empathetic listeners.
Psalms
10:17
"You
hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen
to their cry,"