Voice

Scattered in John 10 is the notion of the Good Shepherd and His sheep who know and hear His voice. The first mention is in 10:2-18, a passage that was spoken at the end of what I imagine was a very long day. The narrative begins in 8:12 and appears to take place during the days of the Feast of the Tabernacles. Jesus again picks up the same theme in 10:25-30 while in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication. The time break between the two passages does not lessen His desire for His sheep, His desire that they would know His voice.

There is something intimate and unique about our voices. Some time ago my cousin David told me I had a very unique voice and he could pick it out of a crowd if he heard it. My friend Jeff and I started our deep friendship over the phone in 2005. We talked daily for the next two years. We learned much of what we know each other through those conversations, listening to one another's voices. To this day we know more simply by the sound of our voices rather than the words spoken. My maternal grandmother passed away in 1990 but I can still remember her voice. There is something about the uniqueness and intimacy of a voice.

This brings me to Jesus - His voice. How can we hear and know His voice? Do His statements spoken that day still apply to us separated by so many years? I go back to Scripture often to hear Him but this is not "study" as we might traditionally think of it. Don't take me wrong; study, the opening of our intellect to the Holy Word is important. What I am thinking of are those moments in those pages when something becomes clear in a flash that once was unclear, the revealing of the "unsearchable riches of Christ" as Paul put it in Ephesians 3:8. I call them "Ah-ha" moments. It is at those moments I hear and know His voice as the Spirit reveals something. It is a gentle whisper that can only be heard at my heart level. Out of those moments when my heart is beating in resonance with His heart I find His presence. Often in those moments I sense the intimacy in a relationship where He is saying, "This is for you, Kelly, my beloved son". This intimacy draws me up short, almost breathless in beauty.

Out of those experiences I've learned to listen more carefully even when I am not at my park table with Holy Word open. In learning this His voice becomes more a part of my day. It is a voice I have come to rely upon, to lead me, to encourage me, to simply be with me. It is touching into the mystery of Christ in me, me in Christ."My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27 & 28.

There appears to be a connection to living out the Life He offers and listening well to His voice. I don't believe listening is any less important because we were not there that day to physically hear His voice. The implication then is that prayer, at least for me, has become more about listening than speaking. Silencing my voice helps me hear His voice.