Really Listen

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As I was watching television the other day, the commentator talked about the elephants of Africa. One of things he said was: "Elephants are probably the most intelligent creatures on earth." As I thought about his statement, it dawned on me that he was probably right. Why? Well, in the first place, have you ever noticed how big an elephant's ears are? They are huge! Elephantine! Jumbo! Immense! Another thing I've noticed is that elephants have a rare limited vocabulary – they do not seem to make a lot of noise and their audible communications with each other are limited to grunts and snorts. So, now I can see why elephants are considered smart: because of their big ears, they must spend more time listening than any other creature on earth! In the same way, because of their limited vocabulary, they apparently do not talk much either.

I do not know about you, but I've always learned much more by listening than I have by talking. We are told in Mark 16:15: "And He said unto them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature of the whole human race."

Over the years I've tried preaching to our eleven children about their questionable behaviors and actions and I've found that preaching does not work for me. On the other hand, when I open the conversation with them with a question – then sit back and listen, a two-way communication is soon established and I'm able to "publish openly" my concerns for them. In addition, I've also gone door-to-door in various neighborhoods to try to tell people about Jesus. That did not work either until I'd learned to ask questions and then listen attentively as they talked to me. After a short time, I learned to phrase my questions in such a way that my questions became a means to 'publish openly' – that is – to "convey" my Christian point of view in a non-confrontational, gentle way.

So, anytime you want to tell others about Jesus, I suggest you start by asking questions. Then, as you listen to their answers, take your cue from the elephants: Flap your ears attentively and do some interested grunting and snorting in response to what they're saying to you.

After awhile, as you follow this procedure with people, those who are non-believers will begin to get curious about you and your motives and they'll ask you some questions about your life and your faith. They'll want to know more about what you believe and why you believe it. At that point, you'll have a receptive audience and you can invite them to come to your church with you and listen to your pastor as he preaches and "publishes openly" the Good News of Jesus to them.

In fact, during the sermon, if you watch your guests out of the corner of your eye, you may even think you see their ears twitch attentively and their ears might even seem to grow as big as an elephant's as they lean forward in their seats and – really listen!

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