The Ministry of Listening
The Ministry of Listening
By Michael
K. Farrar, O.D.
© 2001
My grandfather was a veteran of
World War I and fought on the battlefields of Europe. According to my dad, my
grandfather never spoke to his wife or 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 World War I and II. 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 the 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 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 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 a lesson in listening here. He is
extremely interested in the thoughts and needs of these children and compares
them to those who honestly and truthfully seek His kingdom.
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. He is always interested in what we have to say. We need to follow
His example and seek to be better listeners.
Psalms
10:17‑18
“You hear,
O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to
their cry,
defending
the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may
terrify no more.”